


Born In Flames

by luminna



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Fluff and Smut, F/M, Non-Graphic Smut, Romance, Smut, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, scary dragon girl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:53:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 83
Words: 325,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25397218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luminna/pseuds/luminna
Summary: Yzako, blessed by a dying dragon whose spirit joined with hers the day she was born, has lived her entire life in chains. Molded into a weapon for the Fire Nation, she's known as The Golden Dragon, and when Fire Lord Ozai offers her a deal that will win her the freedom she craves, she has no choice but to accept. When she finally meets the banished prince she's been sent to assassinate, though, she realizes that she might not be able to kill him after all. (Zuko/OC, smutty romance with lots of plot and some canon typical angst)*Starts in Book 1 and follows the show; characters are aged up
Relationships: Zuko (Avatar)/Original Character(s), Zuko (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 529
Kudos: 464





	1. Prologue

Prologue

A great golden dragon--that's what she always dreamt of. Its big snout, its long whiskers, its soft mane. She could always feel its hot breath on her face when it exhaled, and it made her giggle. She loved the dragon’s visits, and was always sad when it left again and she opened her eyes to see the real world around her. 

Her name was Yzako. She was a seemingly normal little girl, very typical of Fire Nation children in terms of her appearance. Her hair was black and thick, her eyes a bright yellow that seemed to sparkle. She giggled when she ran and played in her village, sometimes leaving little singed footsteps behind her when her bending began to show itself.

She was also a very atypical Fire Nation child, though. Her father raised her alone, her mother having died in the same incident that had made Yzako into an extremely special girl.

Their village was small, situated on a remote little island on the edge of the Fire Nation. From it rose a volcano, one that stayed quiet and beautiful in the distance while the small fishing town thrived down below. In that volcano lived a dragon, and it could often be seen flying over the island and the surrounding sea, scales glimmering in the sky. Locals claimed that glimpsing it was good luck, and perhaps it was true; they remained largely unbothered by the Fire Nation, even as the war began. They had little to offer in terms of military might, they weren’t at any kind of advantage in terms of location, and until their dragon was found, there was nothing of interest there.

When Fire Lord Azulon caught wind of a living dragon on that tiny, isolated island, he was delighted. Dragon hunting had been popularized by Sozin before him, after all, and as Fire Lord, he was thrilled by the discovery of another worthy conquest. There were very few dragons left, and he had thought the last had been slain by his son Iroh. He craved the rush of a hunt, and though he was growing old, he wanted the battle. The people he ruled needed a reminder that their Fire Lord was still strong, too, and what better way to prove it than by killing such a formidable beast?

He set the island ablaze, the dragon going up in flames with it. 

In the nightmare that Azulon was causing with reckless abandon, a woman had gone into labor. Firebenders desperately protected her hut, redirecting the flames coming down from above as the dragon tried to burn the Fire Lord and he did the same to it. Azulon could care less about this village, its inhabitants boasting no real power or merit, and he was perfectly content with letting it burn to the ground.

The woman screamed and cried, sweating and grunting as the heat only rose around her. Her husband was outside, helping the others, and a village elder was her only companion as she did her best to simply survive her labor.   
It was meant to be a joyous day, one to celebrate, one full of life and happiness, but instead, it was consumed by flames. The great dragon was backed up near the hut, fighting Azulon until its dying breath, and inside, the woman was bleeding.   
She was hemorrhaging, the nightmare only growing darker and darker. 

That evening, beneath a red sunset, the big, golden dragon that had lived on the island for thousands of years was overtaken by Fire Lord Azulon. 

That evening, beneath a burning roof, a mother cried as she gave birth to a silent, cold baby girl, one who had no voice, who was born with her eyes closed and no breath. 

No life.

In its final moments, the great dragon turned toward the wreckage of the birthing hut, gave a tremendous roar, and let out a jet of colorful fire. It consumed the mother, the daughter, and the elder, and as the beast fell, a tiny voice finally screamed out.   
Her mother was gone before she ever had a chance to know her, her village was destroyed around her, but she had been given life. Azulon either didn’t notice what the dragon had done, or he simply didn’t care. Either way, he had defeated it, even in his old age. He returned to his palace, leaving the smoldering remains of the tiny, useless island behind.

Yzako, the little girl born in flames, dreamt of that golden dragon every night. 

The surviving villagers rebuilt their homes, mourned their losses, and continued on, as life often had to. Yzako began growing up, and when she was eight, her father and the village elders told her what had happened on the day of her birth. They also told her something that she had already known for years, ever since she could remember; that the golden dragon, Kul, had breathed life into her limp little body. He had given her his blessing, but as he died while he did so, his spirit—or at least, some part of it—had joined with hers. 

She was special, a powerful firebender who trained with the elders every day to learn to control her might. Somehow, the Fire Sages learned of her, and on her tenth birthday, they came to collect her. She was taken from her home, her father just looking on as they sailed away with her, his face betraying no signs of emotion as his only daughter cried and reached out for him.

“Papa!” she screamed, held back by a Fire Sage.

There was no answer. He just watched her go. The only family she had left had given her over willingly, sending her away from her home to live at the Fire Sage temple far away. The moment she set food in the big, dark, volcanic temple, she felt the warmth and comfort of Kul’s spirit ebb away, and at ten years old, she was completely, utterly alone.


	2. The Palace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thank you for reading this! It's my first published work here on ao3, and my first fanfic in years. I Just wanted to take the chance to mention a couple things: yes, Zuko is aged up. He's 20 in this fic. Yzako (OC) is 19. The Gaang is closer to canon, but Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee will also all be aged up closer to Zuko. THERE WILL BE SMUT. This is a mature fic, so if this bugs you, please proceed with caution. I'm so excited to share what I've been working on with all of you! I'll include notes at the beginning of every chapter whenever it's applicable, to give some further insight into what i envisioned as I was writing.

Yzako snarled. The gold plated collar dug into her neck, irritating her skin as it pulled and rubbed. Her hands were chained, thick golden cuffs fastened around her wrists as she knelt on her knees, arms raised to the sides. A Fire Sage stood guard before her, his eyes trained on her small form as she threw her head back in anger and let out a hot jet of fire. It did nothing but further exhaust her, dissipating in the air as it cooled into nothingness. 

“Your rage still burns strong,” the sage said. “That is good, Yzako. You feel the heat of the dragon fire inside of you. But you lack control, and that is why you live in chains.”

The girl bared her teeth in a growl. “Let me go.”

The Great Sage just shook his head. “You must learn that your actions have consequences. In the nine years you have resided in our temple, you have made great strides in controlling yourself. I expect more from you by now.”

Yzako just hung her head and sighed. He was right; she had lived there for nearly half her life, only leaving the temple once in those nine years since the sages had snatched her up from her home. 

No, not snatched. She had been given willingly by her father and the village elders. They had wanted to wash their hands of this little monster girl and dump her on someone else so they wouldn’t have to deal with her everyday. 

“You were brought here to learn to harness your power. The golden dragon’s blessing gave you a great strength, unseen in any human before; but day in and day out, you fail to reign it in. And so day in and day out, you find yourself chained.”

“I’m trying,” Yzako snapped, a wisp of smoke leaving her mouth in a puff. 

“That is what you said last time.”

“I am!”

“Control your temper!” he raised his voice and she felt her anger spike. 

It was the same thing, day in and day out, over and over. When she wasn’t chained up, it was only ever a matter of time before her temper got the best of her and she was back to feeling their weight pulling her down.

“Great Sage,” a younger Fire Sage appeared in the doorway, interrupting them. “We’re ready to depart.”

“Thank you, Shyu.” the Great Sage turned back to Yzako. “You have been summoned to the palace. Fire Lord Ozai wishes to observe your progress firsthand.”

Yzako furrowed her brow as the chains binding her slackened and she was able to slowly rise to her feet. The Fire Lord wanted to see her? She had set foot in the throne room only once before, shortly after she had gone to live with the Sages. Ozai had taken an interest in the girl who had supposedly been blessed by the great dragon his father slayed, and she could remember how he had ordered a Sage to shoot fire at her feet and force her to fight back. 

She had spent every day since then fighting.

During their journey to the royal palace, the golden collar remained fastened around her neck. She had worn it almost constantly for the past nine years, an ever-present reminder that she was not free to do as she pleased. Training, day in and day out, was all that she was allowed to do, with the occasional day of rest to heal burns and bruises. The Fire Sages honed her into a weapon, but one that they feared couldn’t be controlled.

Yzako held that same fear inside.

They rode through the capital city in a carriage pulled by a dragon moose. Yzako had been dressed in a simple sleeved red tunic and pants, her feet remaining bare. Her dark hair was held in a topknot with a plain golden hair pin, gold cuffs still around her wrists. It was a nicer version of her normal clothing, which usually consisted of a more plain sparring uniform that allowed her to work and sweat within the temple. 

The Great Sage led her out of the carriage when it stopped, and before them sat the palace. It was a massive, intimidating building, with huge golden pillars and a main tower that rose into the sky. Soldiers lined the road up to it, and more were found inside as Yzako was ordered to enter the throne room alone. 

A blast of fire shot past her head and she immediately dropped into a defensive stance. She was surrounded by a dozen soldiers, and with only a split second to react, she found herself dodging flame after flame as they began an onslaught. Had she been invited to the palace just to finally be put down? Had they decided she was too much work? Maybe Ozai saw her as a threat. Maybe the sages had told him how out of control she was, and he was choosing to simply kill her.

As she tried to continue dodging, she felt her rage growing inside of her. She couldn’t keep avoiding their shots forever. They had trapped her, and she had no choice but to finally retaliate. A frustrated burst of fire shot from her hand, her breath hot, smoke sneaking out from her mouth and nostrils as she let out a stream of flames that singed her tongue and left her teeth feeling hot. 

Within moments, she had taken them all out. She stood in the center of a circle of bodies, breathing heavily—not out of exhaustion, but anger. Then, she heard a pleased chuckle from the end of the room, and looked up to see the wall of fire that hid the throne from sight beginning to diminish. There sat Ozai, watching from afar with an amused expression.

“You did well, little dragon.” He smirked. 

Yzako’s hands balled into fists at her sides as she straightened up. “What is this? Why am I here?”

The Fire Lord frowned. “Bow before royalty. I would have thought the sages taught you some manners.”

She gritted her teeth but obeyed, stepping forward over the bodies and bowing low enough that her forehead brushed the floor. 

“Forgive me, my lord,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. 

She could hear the cruel laughter in his voice. “Good girl. You may rise and face me.”

She did as she was told, sitting on her knees before him. Ozai looked much like how she remembered him from her last visit, shortly after he had been crowned. He wore a topknot, like all royalty did, his hands hidden in the sleeves of his crimson robes. His face was hard and unforgiving, but he didn’t look angry with her; on the contrary, he seemed rather happy. 

“You are wondering why I summoned you.” He said. “The Great Sage has told me of your progress. I wanted to test you for myself.”

She narrowed her eyes. Her years with the fire sages had taught her to trust no one, especially men with power. Every day that she was allowed to sleep in her own cell at the Fire Sage’s temple, she was woken by one of them attacking her. As a result, she learned to sleep with one eye open, so to speak, and to always watch her back.

For people who claimed to want to teach her control, they loved getting a rise out of her. They encouraged meditation, but often interrupted it by shooting flames at her. Then they told her she should do better, she should know how to keep calm in such situations—but she did often feel calm. She was used to it. Yzako wasn’t one for panic, after so many years of surviving their little tests and games, but she was one for anger.

“I have found you to be quite remarkable; a dozen soldiers, killed by your hand. That is no small feat.” Ozai smirked. “Now, perhaps, before I put any real trust in you...you will face my daughter, Azula.”

Yzako barely had a moment to think before lightning struck next to her. She rolled to her right, crouching as she caught movement in the corner of the room. The princess rushed towards her, lightning and blue flames suddenly threatening to engulf her before she bended them away with her own white hot fire. 

“The sages taught you well,” Azula taunted, smirking as she dodged a series of aggressive, fiery punches from Yzako. “But I’m still better.”

She lunged forward, sending lightning straight towards her opponent’s heart. Yzako skidded out of the way, letting out a yell as she released a massive white-yellow blaze, something stirring inside of her that hadn’t been awakened in years. 

Her fight with Azula was like a dance, one far deadlier than any she had performed within the temple. She knew that those lightning strikes were lethal, and Azula fully intended to kill her if given the chance. 

Her heart was beating fast. None of the sages had been this quick or ruthless, even at their worst. She had gone through nine years of daily fighting and torment, and yet nothing she had experienced could quite live up to the onslaught that was Princess Azula. Yzako watched her calculated movements, settling into a rhythm of her own that she had never felt so smoothly before.

Azula was a worthy and dangerous opponent, one whose inner fire burned so incredibly hot that the flames she created were a bright blue, much like the color of her lightning. The sages had never taught Yzako how to redirect it, remaining pure in their teachings and loyal to fire alone, and she didn’t want to find out what could happen if it touched her. 

She stayed on her toes, dodging blast after blast as she waited for opportunities to retaliate. Azula laughed cruelly, much like Ozai had, grinning ear to ear in delight. 

“I must say, you are far more fun than I had anticipated,” she said, narrowly dodging an attack. Yzako’s fire singed her sleeve and the princess frowned, eyes narrowing. 

“I’m happy to amuse you, my princess,” Yzako said before seeing Azula falter momentarily. That had to be her chance. She fell into a series of steps she knew the sages hadn’t taught her, something graceful, like a dance, that came naturally to her. 

She could feel her energy building, heat and power mounting in a way she had never experienced before. Then a roaring in her ears accompanied a huge surging in her chest that flew out through her limbs, a white hot inferno burning around her as she caught Azula off guard and had her pinned on the ground within seconds.

Her bare foot was on Azula’s throat, eyes glowing with rage as she heard the golden dragon screaming in her ears. Azula looked furious, thrashing and twisting beneath her opponent even as Yzako’s hands were up and ready to burn the princess to a crisp. She has never felt such fluidity in her own bending, such a flow of power as her flames practically danced around them. She could feel the spirit of Kul uncoiling from his place around her own spirit, bit by bit, and her throat grew hot with dragon fire as she threw her head back and let it out.

A clapping echoed through the room as the flames died down, Ozai laughing as Yzako tried to catch her breath. 

“Even better than I could have hoped. The dragon blessed you with more power than the sages imagined, it seems.” 

Yzako stepped back, freeing an enraged Azula who jumped to her feet. 

“Again!” The princess demanded.

“Azula, you did well.” Ozai regarded his daughter with a smile. “I had hoped for this outcome.”

Azula’s face twisted in anger. “But father, I—“

“That is enough,” the Fire Lord snapped. The flames around his throne grew larger in an open threat, only shrinking again as Azula simply clenched her jaw and bowed her head. 

“Yes, father.” She dropped to her knee. “My apologies for speaking out of turn.”

Yzako just looked down at Azula and then back up at Ozai, chest still heaving. “Did I pass your test?”

The Fire Lord looked like he wanted to chastise her tone, but then thought better of it and simply smiled that mean, cruel smile. “You did, Yzako. You have proven your strength once again. I have decided that you will remain here for the coming months, and train for what tasks I have for you in the future.”

Yzako bowed her head to hide her frown. “Yes, my lord.”

A palace servant showed her to her new chambers, and she was surprised to see that they were much more ornate than the cell she had lived in at the temple. A large golden bed sat in the middle of the room, covered in red sheets and blankets. Fire Nation banners and tapestries decorated the walls, an ornate nightstand sitting next to the bed while a matching wardrobe stood in the corner. There was even a wash basin and large mirror, as well as a vanity table.

“The Fire Lord wishes for you to enjoy your stay,” the servant said, bowing low as Yzako entered the room. “My name is Jin, and I will be serving you. Please, do not hesitate to summon me whenever you may wish.”

Yzako just stared. She wasn’t used to palace living or the culture that came with it. She still wasn’t sure why Ozai wanted her to stay there; perhaps he was trying to keep an eye on her, or maybe he knew more about the dragon spirit that lived within her than she wanted anyone to. She was fairly certain there was no way he could, though; even the sages didn’t know the extent to which Kul’s presence was with her. 

“Thank you,” she said awkwardly. When Jin didn’t budge, she added, “you may go now.”

The girl just bowed again and backed out of the room, the door closing behind her. When she was sure she was gone, Yzako sat down on the bed, the silk sheets slippery beneath her fingers. The energy that she had felt during her fight with Azula reminded her of the nearly-forgotten dreams she had as a child, when the golden dragon would visit her. He had remained silent, hidden away except for the rage he made her feel under the sage’s rule, their ruthless training and punishments locking him up while they didn’t even know he was there. 

Why had he suddenly woken up? Was it the palace, or the heat of Azula’s flames? Was it the difficulty of the battle? Yzako didn’t know as she sat there, waiting for someone to attack the way that the sages did whenever things were too quiet for too long.   
But nothing happened.

She was left alone for hours, until Jin appeared and informed her that she had been summoned to dine with the Fire Lord and his daughter. She dressed Yzako in red and gold formal wear, long robes the likes of which she had never worn before. When Yzako passed by the mirror on her way out of the room, she almost didn’t recognize herself; the outfit was regal and powerful, heavy layers of silk that probably cost a fortune draping over her body. 

She didn’t hate it, though.

“Ah, Yzako,” Ozai said, already seated at the low table. Azula sat at his right side, regarding Yzako with narrowed eyes but remaining silent. “Sit.”

Yzako did as she was told, sitting with her legs folded under her. She was unused to moving in such heavy clothing, awkwardly folding her legs under herself as she tried to mimic the way the royal family sat. 

Servants brought the food out moments later, a decadent array of meats the likes of which Yzako had never seen suddenly sprawling out before her. 

“I trust your chambers are satisfactory,” Ozai said, not bothering to look up at her as he began eating. 

Azula smirked. 

“They’re lovely, Fire Lord,” Yzako kept her voice and expression neutral.

“Nicer than your housing with the sages, I presume?”

“Yes, Fire Lord.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” he seemed comfortable, nonchalantly enjoying his meal. 

Yzako mimicked him, her mouth watering as she sank her teeth into a haunch of komodo rhino. It was far nicer than anything she had been fed at the temple, where her diet was greatly restricted and she was given rations of food. 

The way Azula watched her was far more unnerving than the Fire Lord’s gaze, those clever, knowing eyes analyzing her every move. Yzako did her best to act like she didn’t care, answering Ozai’s questions about the sages and her home island as politely as possible while Azula smirked and sneered across the table.

As dinner came to a close, the Fire Lord dismissed Azula to speak with Yzako privately, and the princess slinked out of the room without any resistance. Somehow, that was more unnerving than anything else she had done, and as Yzako faced Ozai alone, she could feel goosebumps prickling her skin. He was predatory as he watched her, sitting with the kind of confidence only a powerful ruler could have. 

“I’m happy to see you settling in, Yzako.” he began. “The Fire Sages trained you well, but the temple is...lacking, in many aspects. I wish to offer you the full comforts of palace life while you stay here as my guest.”

“What do you have planned for me?” she asked bluntly.

He chuckled. “Clever girl. You know your own strength.”

“I know there must be a reason the Fire Lord himself wishes to keep me in his home, just like there was a reason the Fire Sages kept me caged for nine years.”

“The sages are an...outdated order.” Ozai said. “I have little use for spiritual leaders in my kingdom; however, they do, on occasion, find themselves doing something useful for me.”

“Like finding me.”

“Precisely.” his eyes burned with greed. “Yzako, you will live and train in the palace alongside my daughter, Princess Azula.”

“May I ask what exactly I’m training for, my lord?”

He smirked. “When you are ready, I will provide you with all you need to know.”


	3. The Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako learns of her purpose in the palace, and why the Fire Lord values her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this posted quickly along with the prologue and first chapter. I've been sitting on this fic for weeks and I've been nervous to post it, but I'm also very determined! These past few chapters have been a bit short, but I promise that future chapters will be much longer. I actually have up to 13 written right now, and since I'm following the show, I've been making great progress in terms of pace! I'll save the gushing over Yzako for later, but I just want to say that I'm proud of her. I would love to get some art commissioned of her soon!

“Enjoying your new life?” 

Yzako turned to see Azula leaning on the wall outside her new chambers. She had been at the palace for two weeks already, waking up at dawn every day to spar with the princess. She took tea with Ozai, making small talk with him, observing the way he seemed to enjoy keeping her as a pet. Then she would dine with the royal family, Jin dressing her in lavish gowns and robes. 

Though she was never chained the way she had been at the temple, she was still living in captivity. Her golden collar was a harsh reminder that she wasn’t free, and while she much preferred the fine dining and silk sheets of the palace, she wasn’t entirely happy. 

She had a job to do, though, a mysterious mission to train for. 

“It’s lovely.” she said flatly, folding her hands in her sleeves. Whenever she wasn’t actively sparring or doing her exercises, Yzako was kept in gold clothing that made her feel like a doll. She enjoyed her reflection whenever she saw herself in the mirror, but it was another reminder that she wasn’t making her own decisions. 

“I’m happy to see you enjoy the prince’s old chambers.”

Yzako tilted her head. “The banished prince?”

Azula smirked and nodded. “My father insisted you stay in Zuko’s old room. Rather nice, isn’t it? Undeserving of someone like him.”

“I take it you don’t like your brother very much.” Yzako said as they began walking together towards the throne room. 

“My brother is weak,” Azula sneered. “He always was. Two years ago, father banished him. I hear he’s searching for the avatar now.”

“The avatar is dead,” Yzako said, snorting. She had begun growing used to the way Azula bragged and had adopted some mannerisms to attempt to better speak with the princess. She didn’t trust Azula, not in the slightest, but she preferred to remain on her good side as much as possible. 

“Or a very, very old man,” Azula laughed. “Zuko is attempting to restore his honor. What a shame that he never had any in the first place.”

They stopped outside the throne room doors. Both had been summoned for a war meeting, Azula wearing her armor, Yzako in her robes. As the doors opened, the Fire Nation’s top generals all turned to look at the girls, their eyes glued to Yzako in amazement.

She was becoming the talk of the palace, gossip about the Golden Dragon abounding in the days since her arrival. Jin sometimes informed her of the most outlandish ones, including a rumor that she was the product of a marriage between a dragon and a Fire Nation noblewoman. Yzako didn’t speak with anyone besides the royal family and Jin, so she never had the chance to correct the misinformation; instead, she allowed herself to become a subject of wonder for the palace staff and the aristocrats and generals who frequented the royal home.

Now, at her first war meeting, she was met with the eyes of a dozen old men who sat at a table before Ozai’s throne. They all wore armor, their faces stern. She supposed they had to be somewhat distinguished to have become the Fire Nation’s top generals.   
Truth be told, Yzako knew little about the war that her nation was fighting. The sages had rarely mentioned it, and she could care less about the politics of men. They were all the same to her—wanting nothing more than to control her, to own her in the way Ozai was trying to. 

As she sat next to Azula before the war council, she paid attention to the movements the generals made, the Earth Kingdom skirmishes they spoke of, and the interjections Ozai made. She tried to remember everything she could, and thankfully, it wouldn’t be her last war meeting; the Fire Lord had her sit in on several more during her time at the palace, using them as a chance to continue training his little pet dragon. 

In her free time, Yzako often found herself meditating in the royal gardens. There were ponds and fountains where turtle-ducks swam, and the fresh air was ideal for relaxing. It was difficult at first, staying in a meditative space for long periods of time, but the more she tried the easier it became. Soon, she was able to focus on the golden dragon spirit, feeling his hot breath ruffling her hair and the brush of his scales as he coiled around her. 

But whenever she opened her eyes, he disappeared. She wasn’t sure what that meant, or even what he was. There were tales of spirits living in the mortal world, but she had never heard of one attaching itself to a living being the way he had. 

When she tried meditating in her chambers, she found that the dragon’s breath was hotter, his scales more tangible under her fingers when she reached out for him. Thoughts of the banished prince plagued her mind, and she was reminded of the boy she had glimpsed years ago during her first visit to the palace. The sages had brought her before Ozai in his first week as Fire Lord, to show him the powerful child they had acquired. While walking through the palace with them, she had caught sight of a boy her age, the crown prince, outside in the gardens. 

They had shared a long glance of wonder. She wanted to know what it would be like to have a friend her own age, and he seemed curious about her. He had seemed innocent, maybe even hopeful, and incredibly sad. Then, as quickly as they had spotted each other, she was ushered away, and he became nothing more than a memory. She learned a few years later that the prince had been banished, but gave little thought as to why or how a teenage boy had become a disgrace to the nation. She was preoccupied with living and suffering within the temple. 

She wondered where he was now. It seemed rude to be occupying his room, but it wasn’t her place to question why she was allowed to use it. It wasn’t her place to question anything that was happening; as far as Ozai was concerned, he owned her. When he summoned her for dinner, she obeyed. When he demanded that she and Azula spar in the throne room so he could measure Yzako’s progress, she obeyed. When Jin informed her that he had asked for her audience one afternoon, she obeyed. 

“Fire Lord Ozai,” she bowed before him. 

“Yzako. You have been training here for two months.”

She looked up at him. “Nearly to the day, my lord.”

“In these past weeks, you have shown me that you are worthy of the task I set before you.” the flames that surrounded his throne reflected in his eyes. “You are aware, of course, of the banished prince.”

A chill flew down her spine. “Yes, my lord.”

“My son, Zuko. Banished from the Fire Nation because he is a cowardly, dishonorable whelp.” Ozai sneered. “He travels the world now, hunting the avatar, as he has for two years. Your mission is one I would entrust to no others, not even Azula yet.”

Yzako furrowed her brow, but stayed silent.

“You have spent a lifetime training to aid your nation. You were born in the fire and blood of the great golden dragon, whose blessing you continue to carry.” he suddenly stood, revealing a golden headpiece he held in his hands. “Do you know what this is, Yzako?”

She stared as he descended from his throne, swallowing hard but keeping her gaze steady. “No.”

“This is the crown of the Golden Dragon.” as Ozai grew closer, Yzako could see that the headpiece was indeed in the shape of a dragon, its tail forming the circle meant to hold a topknot in place. “It was forged many generations ago, by the first Fire Lord. I entrust it now to you, along with the promise of your freedom should you succeed in the task I lay before you.”

Yzako held more still than she ever had in her life as the Fire Lord approached her. She didn’t know what to think. The promise of a free life made her heart jump into her throat. Ozai lowered the crown onto her plain topknot, slipping it over her dark hair and securing it with a long golden pin from the end of which a string of pearls fell. 

The second it touched her, she felt a searing heat replace the chill in her spine. She nearly cried out, instead just stiffening and sitting up straighter, an action that did not go unnoticed by Ozai.

“Yzako, blessed by the Golden Dragon, Champion of the Fire Nation,” he said, stepping back as he regarded her with a smirk on his face. “You will find the banished prince, and you will kill him. Then, if he does indeed still exist, you will bring the avatar to me. Do this, and I guarantee your freedom to do as you please.”

She bowed her head, the added weight of the crown causing her to move slowly. “Yes, Fire Lord.”

“I trust you will not disappoint me.” Ozai returned to his throne. “You will depart tonight. I am sending you with a small battalion to a naval outpost in the southern Earth Kingdom. There have been reports that my son has been spotted near the south pole.”  
“With all due respect, Fire Lord, why not simply let Zuko wander?”

Ozai sat on his throne once more and laughed. “You prefer a different mission, Yzako? Something grander, perhaps?”

She chose her words carefully. “I just can’t help but think that the Earth Kingdom poses a greater threat than a foolish prince.”

“Your spirit truly is that of a dragon,” Ozai seemed amused. “Hungry for power, for glory. You wish to destroy the Earth Kingdom?”

“I wish to serve you and fulfil your wishes so that I may earn my reward.” she gritted her teeth. An unearthly growl floated around in her ears, and she knew that Kul was stirring. “I wish only to understand your will, my lord.”

“You are intelligent, cunning,” he folded his hands in his sleeves. “Were you to topple the Earth Kingdom, I would certainly have no qualms. But I have given you your task. Do whatever it takes to complete it, and you have my word that you will be free of the sages.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Should you fail, however…”

Her stomach dropped.

“...I’m sure the sages could never think up punishments even a fraction as harsh as what I will do to you.”

Her mouth was suddenly dry. She hadn’t felt fear like that in a long time. It was palpable, the kind she could cut with a knife. The weight behind his threat was enough to prove to her that he meant it, and she just nodded. What else could she do?

“You and I are the only people who know of this mission. You would do well to keep it a secret. Oh, and Yzako?”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Wear your crown with pride and honor. I want it to be the last thing Prince Zuko sees.”

“Yes, my lord.” Yzako swallowed hard again, keeping her head bowed. “May I prepare to leave?”

“Yes, you may. I trust I will hear from you soon.”

Yzako left the throne room as calmly as she could, waiting until she was back in her chambers to let out the breath she had been holding. She could never have imagined that her task would be to assassinate a member of the royal family, banished or not. It felt wrong, but...Ozai was right. She was born of fire and blood, and she still longed for freedom above all else. He was a smart man, one who knew what it was she wanted. 

Besides, did she really have any reason not to kill a traitor?

She dressed in simpler clothes, red pants and a matching tunic that would allow her to fight and run. The lavish outfits of the palace would have to stay behind...save for her golden robes. She rolled and packed them, unable to leave them sitting there, unused. She felt Kul purr in satisfaction as she did and rolled her eyes. If there was one thing she had learned in her time at the palace, and with Kul waking back up, it was that the dragon simply adored the robes and jewelry she wore for formal dinners.

As she looked at herself in the mirror one last time, she studied the headpiece that now adorned her hair. She was fixated on it, fire bubbling up inside as Kul saw it, too. 

Tearing herself away, she slung a pack over her shoulder and hurried out of the palace, finding a group of soldiers readying themselves to leave. As they rode out towards the ships docked in the harbor, she looked back, watching the royal palace disappear in the distance. She was glad to be rid of Azula and her father, but as she boarded a warship headed for the southern Earth Kingdom, she couldn’t quiet the uncertain feeling in her gut. She had never assassinated someone before. She knew she was capable of it.   
And if it meant her freedom, she would do whatever she had to.


	4. Meeting The Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako meets the banished prince she's been set after...and has to deal with Zhao at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Kul has some influence on Yzako...she trusts him, but to what end? The dragon has his own motives, and she just has to trust him and go along with them.

“What an honor it is to stand with the Golden Dragon herself, dressed so finely.” 

Yzako turned with a cold expression on her face. She had chosen to dress in her gold robes that morning, as she found that they intimidated the men far more than her normal ensemble did. She couldn’t blame them; save for her lack of shoes, it was the kind of clothing one could only find inside the palace. “Commander Zhao. You’re up early.”

“I rise with the sun, as any military man should.” the commander stepped next to her, looking out at his fleet of ships. “It seems you do the same.”

“I rise with the sun, as any fire bender should.” she said. 

She had been at Zhao’s outpost for a week, and found herself wishing she were simply dealing with Azula again. The man was insufferable, an egotistical thorn in her side who constantly questioned and eyed her. He would look her up and down as if she was a piece of meat at the market, especially when she was heading to her tent at night. She hadn’t had any altercations with him yet, but she was starting to feel like it was only a matter of time. 

The further away she had gotten from the Fire Lord, the more Kul was awakening, too, and the dragon cared very little for Commander Zhao and his irritating mannerisms.

“Again, you make me question why exactly you’re here in my shipyard.” Zhao turned to face her fully.

Yzako resisted sneering at him and kept her tone even. “The Fire Lord felt it was best for me to acquaint myself with his military might firsthand, rather than from the war table.” she raised her lip slightly. “You are familiar with royal war meetings, aren’t you, Zhao?”

Zhao was entirely too easy to rile up. “Do not taunt me, girl.” 

“I mean no ill will, commander.” she turned back to the fleet. 

“I read your papers. If it is the Fire Lord’s will, I will, of course, obey it.” he clasped his hands behind his back. “What are your observations, Golden Dragon?”

“It seems like a lovely fleet.” she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “But, would you do me the honor of explaining why that cruiser is falling apart?”

“What…?” he followed her eyes and spotted a small navy cruiser docking between two of his battle ships. It flew Fire Nation colors, but was certainly not one of his. “...Well, it seems things just got interesting. Perhaps you will do me the great honor of accompanying me to the docks, Golden Dragon.”

She bowed her head slightly. “Of course, Commander Zhao.”

One week she had spent in the presence of Zhao, and this was the first interesting thing to happen. There had been no sign of Prince Zuko or the avatar, only several annoying days of dining with the commander and playing the part of Ozai’s little pet dragon, sent to inspect the sailors and soldiers under his command. It was better than everyone in the Fire Nation navy knowing she was actually harboring the spirit of a dragon, she supposed, so it was a part she was happy to play if she had to.   
She could do with a lot less input from Zhao, though. 

As she walked with the commander down to his docks, she stuck at his side, never letting him step ahead of her. She had discovered on her first day there that he thought very little of the girl, even going so far as to insinuate that she was nothing more than the daughter of unknown aristocrats who simply wanted to give her something to do. Whenever she could aggravate any of his pet peeves, she did so, and walking ahead of or beside him was at the top of his list. 

The cruiser they had observed was in bad shape, the bow and hull damaged. Yzako had to admit she didn’t know much, if anything, about ships, but the extent to which this one needed repairs was enough for her to raise an eyebrow. It was an outdated vessel, dwarfed by the newer navy ships on either side of it, and it stuck out sorely. 

As did the two men standing on the dock in front of it. 

She finally slowed her pace, hanging back slightly as Zhao approached them. One was younger, around her age, wearing Fire Nation armor and a high ponytail, a scar covering the side of his face. His companion was an older man, with a gray beard and a portly stature, and as she listened to them, she felt herself growing curious about the pair. 

“--and I don’t want anyone getting in the way!” the younger man hissed. 

“Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?” Zhao interrupted. 

Yzako just stood behind him and stared. This was her quarry? 

“Captain Zhao,” Zuko folded his arms over his chest, clearly sharing Yzako’s distaste for the man. 

“It’s commander now,” Zhao smirked and bowed slightly. “And General Iroh, great hero of our nation.”

“Retired general,” Iroh said, returning the bow. 

Yzako continued staring. Ozai had failed to mention that a retired general would be accompanying the prince. 

“The Fire Lord’s brother and son are welcome guests anytime,” Zhao said coldly. “What brings you to our harbor?”

“Our ship is being repaired,” Iroh gestured towards the damaged cruiser. 

“That’s quite a bit of damage,” Zhao remarked, looking up at it. 

“Yes, you wouldn’t believe what happened,” Zuko said. After a pause, he added, “Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened.”

Iroh’s eyes widened for a brief moment. “Yes! I will do that. It was incredible!” he leaned in towards his nephew. “What, did we crash or something?”

Yzako almost couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This. This was her target? This...boy, accompanied by Ozai’s elderly brother? Why did the Fire Lord even need her to go after them, when they were so clearly inept at completing a simple lie about whatever had happened to their ship?

She narrowed her eyes. What had happened?

“Yes!” Zuko said quickly, agreeing with his uncle. “Right into...an Earth Kingdom ship.”

Yzako felt...bad? In a way? That she was going to have to kill Zuko. His blatant lie and the way he fumbled for his words were...endearing, almost. 

“Really?” Zhao asked with a frown, leaning in towards the prince in the same way he liked to invade Yzako’s space whenever she refused to tell him details about her assignment. “You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?”  
“Sorry, but we have to go.” Zuko said with narrowed eyes, turning to leave.

“Prince Zuko,” Iroh caught him by the shoulder. “Show Commander Zhao your respect.” he let the boy go and began walking past Zhao. “We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It’s my favorite.”

Zuko snarled, flames flying from his hands. He was clearly upset by the concept of having to stay there longer than necessary, and Yzako couldn’t blame him. She was just happy that her prey had shown up so that she could finally kill it and leave.   
Iroh suddenly stopped, having noticed Yzako standing there several paces away. “Oh? I do not believe we have been introduced.”

She bowed, the string of pearls on her hairpin swaying gently with her slow movement. “It is an honor to meet you, General Iroh.” she straightened again to see that Zuko had joined his uncle. “My name is Yzako.”

She saw Zhao’s smirk and her nostrils flared in irritation, a movement she was sure all three men facing her had caught. “The Golden Dragon meets the Dragon of the West. How quaint.”

Yzako’s lip raised in a sneer that she managed to turn into a smile before it could get too far. She quickly bowed her head again. “And the Fire Nation Prince, it’s an honor.”

Zuko was silent, but Iroh stroked his beard before returning the bow. “The honor is mine, Golden Dragon. I must admit, it is quite a surprise to see you here.”

Zuko frowned. 

Yzako frowned.

Zhao smirked. 

“Yzako is here under orders from the Fire Lord,” he said smugly.

Zuko shared a glance with his uncle. 

“The Fire Lord wishes for me to see the Fire Nation’s military might firsthand.” Yzako said, bowing her head slightly to Zhao in an effort to sell her lie better than Zuko and Iroh had tried to sell theirs. “Commander Zhao’s harbor is only my first stop on a long tour.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. Did he remember meeting her at the palace all those years ago? Was anything in her expression betraying her intentions? All she could do was smile politely and look between him and Iroh. They were mere feet away from her. She could end it then and be done with the first half of her mission, and that much closer to freedom already. 

But she was surrounded by Fire Nation military...and she had never tried to fight in her heavy formalwear. She cursed herself internally, upset that she hadn’t thought to at least practice in the robes. 

“I trust you are finding Commander Zhao’s fleet to be satisfactory,” Iroh said pleasantly. “Please, join us for tea.”

She smiled and bowed. “It would be my pleasure, General Iroh.”

As the older men walked past her, she straightened up, only to be met with the amber eyes of Prince Zuko. He stared at her, seemingly into her soul, and she found herself staring back, fixated on the scar that she was sure hadn’t been there the last time she had seen him. His eyes were harsh, untrusting, angry. They weren’t the eyes she had looked into at the palace. 

Back then, he had been a child. 

Now, he was a man. One banished by his father for crimes Yzako still wasn’t sure of, branded by a scar she had no clue about, traveling with the Fire Lord’s older brother. The Dragon of the West...why was he given such a title? Was Iroh like her? She doubted it, but...was there really any telling at that point? None of the other generals she had met were called anything similar. 

Still staring at him, she felt a groggy Kul stirring, his spirit brushing against her heart in the way it did only on rare occasions since she had left the sages’ temple. Something in those firey eyes was enough to awaken the spirit of the Golden Dragon, and his movement caused a swelling feeling in her chest as an incredibly slight breeze brushed her cheek. It was one that held that unnatural cold-warm sensation of the dragon’s spirit, and though it was tiny, it was distinguishable from the usual seabreeze of the harbor. 

It was enough to cause a small sway in the string of pearls hanging from her crown, and she watched as Zuko noticed, his eyes finally leaving hers to stare in surprise at the headpiece. Did he know it was from the palace? It was definitely larger and more ornate than what Azula wore as princess, more delicate and a brighter gold than Ozai’s. 

Zuko narrowed his good eye and his gaze traveled back to meet hers before he broke it once again and turned to follow his uncle and Zhao.

As she fell into step beside the prince, Yzako realized there was a lot the sages had neglected to tell her in her years with them. She had a very limited knowledge of any Fire Nation politics that weren’t covered in the meetings she had attended, and she had a creeping feeling that there was a reason Ozai had chosen not to divulge so much information. 

“Yzako.” the prince said simply, staring forward. 

“Zuko.” she replied much the same. “It is a surprise you recognize me.”

Why was she speaking with him? He was her target. She shouldn’t even bother with any conversation, she should just kill him and run. 

“Hard to forget the Golden Dragon appearing in your home the week of your father’s coronation.” he said flatly. 

“You flatter me, Prince Zuko.”

“It’s a surprise to find you working for the throne. I thought you were with the sages.”

“I work for no one, and certainly not the sages,” she spat. 

“Hmph.” he nearly laughed and she realized he had caught her in the middle of a trap. “Then you’re not here inspecting boats.”

She collected herself. “I am here under orders--”

“From my father. I heard.” he interrupted. “I hope your assignment goes smoothly, then, Golden Dragon.”

“Thank you for the kind wishes, Prince Zuko.” she said through a clenched jaw. 

\--

“And by year’s end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule.” Zhao said, facing the world map that hung on the wall of his tent. “The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war.”

“If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool.” Prince Zuko said from his seat at the table, across from Yzako. She raised a brow at his bold words.

Zhao pulled out the chair next to him and sat in it. “Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue.” he smirked. “So, how’s your search for the avatar going?”

Behind them, a rack of weapons fell, Iroh stepping back from them. “My fault, entirely.” he apologized. 

Zuko looked back to Zhao. “We haven’t found him yet.”

“Did you really expect to?” the commander asked harshly. “The avatar died a hundred years ago along with the rest of the airbenders.”

Zuko frowned deeply, looking away. Yzako followed his change in expression closely. 

“...Unless you’ve found some evidence that the avatar is alive.” Zhao said.

“No. Nothing.” Zuko said quickly.

“Prince Zuko.” Zhao stood again. “The avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war.” he leaned over the prince. “If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you’ll tell me what you’ve found.”

Yzako watched the exchange. So, the prince did know something about the avatar...she couldn’t kill him if he had useful information, could she? Was she just looking for excuses, or was there something more to the little jolt of hope she felt?

“I haven’t found anything,” Zuko said, raising his voice slightly. “It’s like you said; the avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, uncle.” he stood and walked past Zhao. “We’re going.”

The prince was blocked by two guards standing by the tent’s entrance, their halberds crossing to stop him. 

“Commander Zhao, we’ve interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the avatar in custody, but let him escape.” a captain said. 

“Now, remind me,” Zhao said with a smile. “How exactly was your ship damaged?”

Yzako poured herself a cup of tea as she watched the men force Zuko to take a seat again, two of them standing guard on either side of him. If the avatar really was alive, and the prince really had let him go...then he was the only one who knew anything about the avatar’s whereabouts. If Ozai found out that she had simply killed the prince and then delayed capturing the avatar--or worse, losing the trail entirely--her freedom was in jeopardy. 

She would have to find a way to get the information out of Zuko, and by the looks of things, Zhao was about to try first. She hated the commander with a passion, and she wasn’t about to let him take this from her. 

As she listened to Zuko’s tale, she was displeased to hear him divulge many details to Zhao. Even if she didn’t kill him right away, she was going to find a way to make him pay for aiding the commander so easily. The avatar was a child, an airbending child, who had been found living amongst the Southern Water Tribe? She didn’t know if she or Zhao would have ever figured that out on their own. Add to that this actual child had so greatly damaged Zuko’s cruiser, and Yzako was almost considering the possibility that she would need help taking him down. 

“So a twelve year old boy bested you and your firebenders.” Zhao said. “You’re more pathetic than I thought.”

Yzako didn’t like the way he spat it out, as if Zuko was a worm beneath his feet. 

“I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again,” Zuko growled. 

“No it will not.” Zhao said. “Because you will not have a second chance.”

“Commander Zhao, I’ve been hunting the avatar for years, and I--”

“And you failed!” Zhao turned, a blaze of fire following him. “Capturing the avatar is too important to leave in a spoiled child’s hands. He’s mine now.”

Yzako sipped her tea to refrain from getting involved as Zuko jumped to his feet, held back only by the two guards as he lunged towards Zhao. 

“Keep them here.” the commander ordered as he stepped away. 

With a loud yell, Zuko kicked the tea table just as Yzako managed to raise her cup off of it in time for it to splinter. She took a sip from her seat next to Iroh, watching the angry prince. She couldn’t blame him; it was the same type of outburst she would have had, except hers would have landed her in chains. 

“More tea, please!” Iroh called out, having lost his now.

Zhao paused before he reached the doorflap. “And keep Miss Yzako here as well.”

Two more guards stepped into the tent, halberds in hand. 

“What? Why?” she asked, her anger rising. 

“I don’t need the Golden Dragon ‘inspecting’ any of my ships and getting in the way, now do I?” he smirked, leaving her fuming. 

“You can’t do that,” she growled, moving to stand.

The guards rushed towards her. 

“Oh, I think I can. You just sit tight, Yzako.”

She couldn’t stop the wisp of smoke that she exhaled as she tried to calm her temper. At the sight of Zhao leaving, though, she let out a shriek and threw her teacup after him, only narrowly missing the back of his head. 

No one spoke while he was gone, the presence of the guards keeping the three silent. Yzako could only exhale steam as she sat there, briefly considering killing Zuko and getting it over with now that Zhao was likely on his way to find the avatar himself. If the commander were to capture him before she did...shit. She couldn’t let that happen, under any circumstances. 

When Zhao stepped back into the tent, it took all her strength to keep herself from lashing out at his smug face. 

“My search party is ready. Once I’m out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you’ll be free to go. And you, Yzako, will be free to move on to your next harbor.”

She grimaced.  
“Why?” Zuko asked the commander. “Are you worried I’m gonna try to stop you?”

Zhao threw his head back and laughed. “You? Stop me? Impossible.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Zhao.” Zuko stood up quickly. “I will capture the avatar before you.”

“Prince Zuko, that’s enough,” Iroh warned.

“You can’t compete with me,” Zhao sneered. “I have hundreds of warships under my command...and you, you’re just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn’t even want you.”

“You’re wrong,” Zuko said. “Once I deliver the avatar to my father, he will welcome me with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne.”

Yzako nearly choked on her own breath. Is that what he believed? That his father wanted him to return home? That he would gladly accept his son, whom he had sent a dragon to murder? No, this was wrong. It felt wrong. Inside her chest, Kul’s spirit stirred, and she heard a low growl in her ears from him. 

Iroh looked at her, catching her eyes widen at the sudden unheard sound, and for a moment she wondered if he had any idea what had just happened to her. 

“If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, avatar or no avatar.” Zhao said. “But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation.”

“That’s not true,” Zuko’s nose wrinkled.

“You have the scar to prove it.” 

“Maybe you’d like one to match!” the prince snarled.

“Is that a challenge?” Zhao asked, unflinching.

“An agni kai.” Zuko said. “At sunset.”

“Very well.” Zhao began to turn away. “It’s a shame your father won’t be here to watch me humiliate you. I suppose your uncle and the Golden Dragon will do.”

“Prince Zuko,” Iroh said as Zhao left, “have you forgotten what happened last time you duelled a master?”

Zuko stood with narrowed eyes, watching as Zhao disappeared. “I will never forget.”

Yzako stared. He had been burned in an agni kai? He had been burned, he had been scarred...by his father. By Ozai. By the man she was obeying. Her stomach twisted in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time, her hand flying to touch the golden collar around her neck. She knew what it was like to be beaten and scarred by men who held power over her. She knew how it felt when she couldn’t fight back, wouldn’t fight back. 

Kul growled in her ears again, but this time, she was certain that Iroh heard it. He looked up at her. “Golden Dragon, it would be much appreciated if you could help the prince prepare.”

She stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do. Aiding the prince now didn’t mean that she was failing her mission yet. She was simply saving her kill from another killer, right? She could feel Kul’s spirit wrap itself around hers, as if chastising her. As the dragon woke up more and more, his attitude grew stronger along with his presence, and she sighed. 

“Yes, I would be happy to help.”

\--

As the sun set, Yzako found herself standing next to Iroh. Zuko knelt before them, his back to Zhao as the commander mirrored the position at the other end of the dirt match. A row of guards stood with the prince’s opponent, while Zuko had only the two dragons on his side.

“Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko,” Iroh advised. “They are your greatest weapons.”

“I refuse to let him win,” Zuko growled, moving to stand. 

“Zuko, wait,” Yzako said before he could go anywhere. “I’ve watched Zhao spar. He’s a good firebender, and a dirty fighter. Don’t expect him to play fair.”

The prince narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Go with the Golden Dragon’s blessing.” the words didn’t feel like they were her own, her lips moving of their own accord. 

She knelt before him, leaning in close to his face. Zuko froze, held absolutely still under her gaze. Her eyes had become something inhuman, pupils narrowed into slits as she took his face in her--clawed?--hands and breathed a wisp of white hot fire into his mouth. 

As she fell back, he felt heat surge through him, the intensity of which he had never experienced before. It wasn’t his own bending...or was it? As the seconds ticked by, he couldn’t tell, but he was suddenly filled with a power that was alien to him. 

As he stood to face Zhao, Yzako fell back, caught only by Iroh. Kul’s spirit was more alive than ever, her vision swimming as her head grew light. She was vaguely aware that she was leaning against someone, but it was impossible to concentrate as she tried to watch the (shirtless, deliciously muscled) prince begin his fight. She heard a gong sound, and the flames that left Zuko’s fists were powerful enough that she felt Iroh gasp behind her. 

She wasn’t entirely sure what she had done, or what Kul had done, but it left her nauseous. She desperately fought the urge to vomit and instead tried to right herself, straightening up with Iroh’s help to watch the prince. Yzako couldn’t see straight, but from what she could tell, Zuko had been taught well. He was evenly matched with Zhao...no, he was stronger. 

Ozai had no reason not to want this son. 

“Basics, Zuko!” she heard Iroh yell. “Break his root!”

Yzako’s eyes focused long enough to see Zhao advancing. He was a strong firebender, his movements solid and aggressive in a way that was typical of the Fire Nation military. With the heels of both hands, he shot a blast of fire that had Zuko stumbling and falling back, more fire aimed at Prince’s head. 

Then Zuko twisted, throwing his legs out from under him, using his upper body to right himself again. Kul roared in her ears, a deafening sound the likes of which she had never heard before. Zuko stepped forward, flames dancing out from under his feet as he broke Zhao’s stance and balance, and within moments the commander was on his back.

“Do it!” he snarled. 

Zuko hesitated before his fist sent flames scorching the ground next to Zhao’s head. 

As Yzako’s nausea began fading away, she caught her breath and looked on with puzzlement. Why not kill the commander then and there? Zuko was within his rights to. Hell, she probably would have. 

“That’s it?” Zhao sneered as Zuko straightened up. “Your father raised a coward.”

“Next time you get in my way, I promise I won’t hold back.” Zuko growled before walking back towards Iroh and Yzako. 

The girl fixed her posture, able to stand on her own again without Iroh’s aid. As she did so, she watched Zhao get up, and saw him tense as he began to turn--

Within a flash, Iroh had his hand on Zhao’s wrist, bending the fire that had been aimed at Zuko’s back away and sending Zhao skidding several feet across the dirt. 

Yzako snarled at the same time Zuko did, the prince starting back towards the commander. 

“No, Prince Zuko.” Iroh stopped him. “Do not taint your victory.” he turned to look upon Zhao. “So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you.”  
Zuko looked towards his uncle, and Yzako’s heart nearly stopped for a moment. Honor. 

There was nothing honorable in assassinating this prince. 

“Thanks again for the tea.” Iroh turned. “It was delicious.”

His gaze met Yzako’s as he started towards her, and she felt like he could see the sudden confusion and fear that she suddenly couldn’t hide anymore. Kul’s actions had left her exhausted, and she used the brief moment to collect herself before looking past them to Zhao. 

She bowed. “Commander. I believe you’re correct; I’ll be taking my leave of your harbor tonight. I’ve seen all I need to see.”

Zhao narrowed his eyes, and she turned to follow Iroh and Zuko out. 

She wasn’t sure what to do now. She felt that she couldn’t kill the prince; even if she wanted to, Kul wouldn’t allow it. She was tired, and she had a headache now that her vision had returned to normal. Maybe it was in her best interest to run, get away while she had the chance, live in the wild somewhere the Fire Lord couldn’t find her. 

As she made her way to her tent, she quickly changed into her plain clothes, throwing the robes into her pack and slinging it over her shoulder. She knew that no matter what, she couldn’t stay at Zhao’s harbor. Ozai trusted him, and the commander was sure to send a messenger hawk to the palace with information on how she had aided Zuko. 

Zhao may not have had any idea that she was tasked with murdering the prince, but Ozai would definitely be hearing that she had met Zuko and left him alive. She had no choice but to run now. As she crept through the harbor, searching for any way out, she found herself staring at the newly repaired, tiny, outdated cruiser. 

“Golden Dragon,” she was interrupted and turned to see Iroh standing there. “We are about to leave. It would be an honor if you would join us.”

She paused. She really didn't have much of an option at this point. “It would be my pleasure.”


	5. Spirit Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kul finally shows his big scaly face, and Yzako gains a new friend in the form of retired general Iroh.

The air was cold in the south, much colder than she was used to. Even below deck, Yzako was shivering, constantly exhaling steam to try to warm herself. The crew seemed not to notice, going about business as usual as the cool sea winds whipped around the cruiser. She was still unsure of the decision she had made, wondering if anything she was doing was a good idea. Zhao would report back to Ozai, detailing the events of the evening, and she was wholly unprepared for whatever the Fire Lord would do if he considered her a lost cause or a traitor. 

She was unprepared for most things, she realized. Half a lifetime in chains hadn’t taught her much besides pain. 

“We do not have much in the way of lodging, I am afraid,” General Iroh said, leading Yzako to a small bedroom. “But, I would be more than happy to lend you my quarters.”

“Where will you sleep?” she asked, surveying the cramped chamber. It reminded her of the cell she had lived in at the Fire Sage temple, and she suddenly found herself longing for the room she had at the royal palace. 

It was Zuko’s old room, but still.

“I will stay in the crew’s quarters.” Iroh smiled gently. “A lady aboard our ship deserves her privacy and comfort.”

Yzako dropped her pack on the bed and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “You don’t need to do that for me.”

She had felt sick since she set foot on the prince’s cruiser. It was another new feeling, one she didn’t know how to interpret. Her stomach was constantly twisting and churning uncomfortably, her cheeks queasy, her hands shaky. She was scared, of what would happen if Ozai realized she was running, of what would happen if Zuko found out she had been sent to kill him...she was scared of everything. 

“I insist,” Iroh said, his old voice entirely too kind for someone like her. “You are an honored guest upon this ship.”

Yzako shook her head. “No, I-I’m not. Please don’t think of me that way.”

Iroh bowed his head. “Sometimes, the best gift is that of an open ear. I am here, if you wish to speak.”

Yzako stared at him for a long moment before rushing past him, mumbling something about needing fresh air. Iroh watched her go with a frown on his face, letting out a sigh. She seemed just as confused as Zuko, if not more. The girl he had just seen run away in a panic was completely different from the girl she had been at the harbor earlier that day, and while Iroh would never pry, he suspected there was much she needed to talk about. 

Up on the deck, Yzako collapsed, falling to her knees. Her breathing was fast and painful, her heart hammering away in her chest. She felt like she was going to vomit, but nothing was coming up, sweat prickling her forehead as she finally did the only thing her body could think of to do: she cried. 

For the first time in years, she sat there and she cried. 

Tears rolled down her cheeks, half a lifetime of rage and sorrow suddenly pouring out of her. It was an ugly cry, too, sobs wracking her body as her voice grew hoarse and her throat became sore. Her breath came in hiccupping gasps, eyes squeezing shut as she just shook her head over and over, unable to stop herself from finally breaking down. 

It was too much, it was all too much. 

Suddenly, she felt a warm breeze chasing away the cold wind of the sea, and a peaceful hum quieted her sobs. Opening her eyes, she was met with the soft silver glow of the spirit she had only ever seen in her dreams, his long body curled around her protectively. Kul was massive, and as he breathed that gentle, warm dragon’s breath onto her face, she began to fully realize the extent of his power. 

It was surrounding her, a massive aura of strength that she almost couldn’t believe was being housed in her own soul. She recognized its feeling as a stronger version of what she would experience whenever she lost control of herself, a white-hot flame that was ready to explode at any moment unless it was handled correctly. 

He lowed, the deep sound melancholy as he brushed his nose against her head, and Yzako was surprised to find that she could feel him. He was soft, nearly solid as she fell forward and hugged his muzzle. Finally seeing Kul standing before her was comforting, like being reunited with a long lost friend. 

Yzako didn’t need to speak, unable to even get words to leave her mouth as she simply buried her face against his. The dragon spirit had been with her through it all, whether he had laid dormant or not. She was his only connection to the physical world, and to his home, and though nineteen years was but a blink compared to his own long lifetime, it was enough for him to feel as though the girl whose soul had saved his was his own.

“I’m sorry,” Yzako finally sobbed out, twisting her fingers into the hair on the underside of his chin. 

The dragon closed his eyes, letting out another low bellow. He had never had the strength to materialize like this before, not since his death at the hands of Fire Lord Azulon, and Yzako found herself hoping that he would never go away again. Whatever the sages had done to her in their temple had kept him away, nine long years of their training doing nothing to aid her or her dragon. Now that he was there, she felt more certain than she had in a long time—certain that she could find a way to survive, that things were going to be okay. With him there, she could do whatever she needed to. 

A movement behind her made Kul raise his head slightly, slipping out of her grasp as he looked towards it. Yzako’s heart dropped and she clung tighter to the dragon, desperate to keep him with her, and as his head rose she felt herself being picked up off the deck. She couldn’t help the tiny laugh that escaped her as Kul lowered his head again, placing her back down on her feet. 

She turned to see General Iroh dropping to his knees and bowing.

“Forgive my intrusion,” the old man said. “I wanted to make sure you were alright...but I see now that you are not alone.” 

Yzako kept one hand on Kul’s muzzle, the other moving to wipe her eyes. She wasn’t sure how to respond. 

Thankfully, Iroh didn’t seem to need to hear anything. He straightened back up from his bow, moving to sit cross legged. “I hope you will not mind my company. It is an honor to behold the spirit of the Golden Dragon.” He closed his eyes, bowing his head once more. “I want to thank you for lending your strength to Prince Zuko. It was a blessing that must not go unnoticed.”

Kul watched the retired general for a long moment, neither of them moving even an inch. The dragon seemed to be regarding him, looking him over carefully before he finally closed his eyes and bowed his head. 

Iroh looked up again. “And to you, Miss Yzako, I must give my deepest gratitude.”

Yzako wiped tears from her eyes again, quickly trying to hide her crying. “Please don’t thank me.”

Iroh smiled warmly. “While I cannot make you accept it if you do not wish to, please know that I am eternally grateful towards you.”

Yzako sniffled again and looked down, a pang of nauseating anxiety hitting her stomach again. Kul nudged her torso with his snout as he felt her unease, causing her to stumble towards Iroh where he sat. The Golden Dragon then twisted his long body to circle around the two of them, forcing Yzako to sit cross legged before the old general while Kul’s large, ethereal head laid at her side. 

“It seems we may be here for a while,” Iroh chuckled at the dragon’s actions. “Luckily for us, I brought some tea.” 

He picked up a small traveling tea set that sat next to him, pouring three of the four cups. Yzako furrowed her brow as she watched, wondering why he had bothered with any of it. She didn’t deserve his kindness, not while she was only there to either continue considering her mission to kill Zuko or as a new fugitive of the Fire Nation. 

“I hope you enjoy jasmine,” Iroh said, leaning forward and setting a cup in front of Yzako. “And you as well, great dragon.” He put the other in front of Kul’s nose. 

“He isn’t going to drink it, you know.” Yzako finally spoke, her throat sore from her sobbing. 

“Nevertheless, it would be rude not to offer,” Iroh picked up his own teacup and sat back. Kul chuffed in agreement.

“Why do they call you the Dragon of the West?” Yzako asked bluntly. “Why does Kul like you?”

The retired general sipped his tea slowly. “I am sure you are familiar with the hunting of the dragons.”

“Of course.” She narrowed her eyes. 

He sipped his tea again and her lip rose in a snarl, her panic momentarily replaced by anger. “You’re a dragon killer.”

“I searched for the last remaining dragons for many years,” he finally said, holding eye contact comfortably. “When I found them, I asked only to learn from them; and so they taught me. When I returned to the Fire Nation, I announced that I had killed the last of the dragons, thus ending the dragon hunts that my father and grandfather so enjoyed.”

Yzako only stared. She suddenly felt bad for assuming the worst of him, when he had given her no reason to think he was anything other than a kind old man. Kul let out a long breath of warm air, and she watched as Iroh smiled at the dragon as if the two were old friends. If he had been trained by dragons, maybe that was why Kul had taken a liking to him; maybe he could sense a familiarity within the old firebender. 

“Forgive my assumptions.” Yzako said. “I’m...not used to this.”

“You are not used to kindness,” Iroh said gently. 

His words washed over her in a strange way. He was right, and she hadn’t even known how weird the simple kindness of a stranger truly was to her. 

“The spirit of the Golden Dragon has become intertwined with your own,” Iroh observed. “You carry more than just his blessing.”

“No one else knows,” she said quickly. 

“And perhaps it is best that it remain between the three of us here.” He nodded towards her untouched cup. “Your tea will get cold, especially with this sea wind.”

Yzako picked it up, surprised to find that it was still warm. “At the next port of call, I’ll be on my way. You won’t have to hear from me again.”

“The choice is yours, but with all due respect, I think it may be in your best interest to remain here for the time being.” 

Kul let out a quiet growl of agreement, and Yzako sighed. “I don’t deserve your care.”

“I will never ask you to divulge information you do not wish to,” Iroh began, “but I know the Fire Lord, and I know that whatever mission he has truly sent you on will be an unpleasant one. I also suspect it had little to do with inspecting the troops.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Leaving in a hurry, in the night?” He laughed, a wise smile on his face. “I do not blame you for wanting to be rid of Zhao as quickly as possible, but you bear the weight of one troubled by many things.”

Yzako sighed and looked down at her tea. Well, he wasn’t wrong. “...I will stay. For now.”

Kul bayed happily, pressing his cheek against her arm. She turned to look at him, his large eye level with hers, and she saw her reflection there. Her face was puffy from crying, her hair out of place, her crown slightly askew. Her gaze fell to the collar around her neck and she grimaced, feeling it chafe her skin as she turned back to face Iroh.

She hated that fucking collar. 

“Will you teach me?”

“Eh?” He looked up from his tea. 

“Will you teach me?” She asked again, more firmly. “You said you learned from dragons. I...I still don’t know how to control myself.”

He stroked his beard. “It seems your connection with the Golden Dragon is strong.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen him like this,” she said, placing her hand on Kul’s jaw. “Before this, it was only ever in dreams.”

“Then it seems you are already doing something right.” Iroh smiled. “It would be a great honor to train you alongside my nephew.”

She frowned slightly, but she couldn’t really complain about the concept of having Zuko as a sparring buddy. He was well trained, a member of the royal family, and...honestly? Not too hard on the eyes. With a little nod, Yzako agreed to it, wondering what training with him would be like. He was a good firebender, his Angi Kai with Zhao had proved that much. What else would she be learning, though? She needed Kul to continue coming out of whatever sleep he had been in, and felt that she needed Iroh--and in turn, Zuko--to make that happen. She would do whatever she had to to keep waking up the dragon spirit. 

“It would be an even greater honor if you would finally tell me what you think of the tea.”

Yzako couldn’t help the small smile that broke onto her face. She finally lifted the cup to her lips, drinking in the fragrant jasmine tea, the floral scent clearing her stuffy nose and leaving her feeling much better than before. She didn’t know much about Iroh, but she was quickly discovering that she was a big fan of his taste in tea. 

“Thank you,” she said, bowing her head. “For inviting me on board.”

“It is my pleasure,” Iroh returned the small bow. “I suspect that much like my nephew, you are lost in some way.”

She just frowned. 

They finished their tea, continuing on with relaxed pleasantries until they were done. When Yzako stood and turned to Kul, she saw that his form was already fading, and she stepped forward quickly to reach for him. He slipped through her fingers, his hot breath feeling weak on her face as he dematerialized. 

She wanted to cry again for a moment, but a gentle hand on her shoulder turned her to face Iroh. 

“The Golden Dragon will need his rest after a long day,” the general said before he gathered the tea set. “And so will you. We will begin our training at dawn.” 

Yzako nodded, returning to her chamber and immediately falling onto the bed. She slept soundly that night, a heavy, comfortable warmth settling over her, and though she couldn’t see them, the candles around the room burned brighter than normal as she dreamt of summer.


	6. Breathe In...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako is frustrated with her daily exercises, and Zuko gets a taste of her flames.

A deep breath in, a steady exhale, and the fanning of flames in her chest. That’s what her morning training was consisting of. She was standing on the main deck of the cruiser, the sun already high in the sky as she repeated the exercise over and over.

And over.

And over. 

Yzako’s nostrils flared impatiently as she tried to keep her breathing under control, but the sound of Zuko sparring with a crew member was distracting her. Even when she squeezed her eyes shut, she could hear their shouts and grunts. She wanted to join them, actually put her hours and hours of breathing exercises to good use. 

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Her eyebrow twitched as Zuko let out a loud yell of effort, the sound of bursting fire coming soon after. Yzako tried to focus on herself, on the sound of the waves and the wind, but it was growing impossible.

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. 

“I’m tired of this!” She snarled, flames leaping from her mouth.

Iroh jumped, startled. Zuko and the crew member stopped to look at Yzako, surprised by her sudden outburst. 

“I’m sick of breathing exercises!” She yelled at no one in particular. 

Iroh sighed. The Golden Dragon was already proving to be a handful. “Fire comes from the breath. To control your bending, you must first master this.”

“I know how to breathe!” Yzako snapped, both fists lighting up with flame to prove her point. 

“Watch your mouth,” Prince Zuko interjected angrily. “You’re a guest on my ship. Remember that.”

Yzako made a sound of frustration and disgust, causing Zuko’s face to twist in irritation. During the three days she had been on the cruiser, he had barely interacted with her, clearly unhappy that she was there. They spoke very little, mostly just glimpsing each other in passing or continuing not to speak at dinner. He pissed her off, in all honesty, and as her lip raised, she found herself wanting to punch him.

“You want to fight so badly?” He asked, raising his voice. “Fine. Face me.”

“Prince Zuko, please,” Iroh sighed, already knowing that the situation was out of his hands. Both his nephew and Yzako were hot headed, and part of him was surprised it had taken this long for them to clash. Add to that the fact that Zuko had already had one outburst that morning about their inability to find the avatar, and the prince’s temper was a timebomb. 

“Gladly,” Yzako sneered. 

Zuko stepped in front of her and they both bowed before taking defensive stances. The prince was shirtless, his skin already covered in a sheen of sweat from his morning training. As Yzako studied him with narrowed eyes, she could see how well defined his muscles were, from hours of daily firebending. 

Don’t let him distract you. She told herself before stepping to the side to dodge a shot. 

She weaved and dipped, avoiding his fire on instinct while looking for an opening. He was aggressive in his movements, like every Fire Nation soldier, like Zhao, like Azula. Powerful shots and strong stances, full of long range punches that kept her from getting too close to him. She had always fought differently, more fluidly. The sages hadn’t taught her how to twist and bend so much, but they could never break her of the habits, just like they failed to keep her from developing stronger and stronger steps.   
She smirked as she remembered the time she broke a sage’s arm when he had gotten caught in one of her movements and she hadn’t stopped herself from finishing it. They had known how dangerous she was, especially when her inner fire heated up and she really got going. 

Zuko followed as she bobbed and ducked, yelling angrily when he couldn’t get any hits in. She was flowing in a way he had never seen a firebender, like lava running down the side of a volcano. Some of her moves were unexpected, and he pressed on harder, his punches only growing faster and angrier. 

Iroh was looking on with curiosity as well, smiling to himself as he watched. Yzako used the same basics as any firebender did, but she reminded him of his time learning from the masters, Ran and Shaw. Perhaps she would be useful in teaching Zuko as well; Iroh’s nephew had been considered a weak failure before the retired general began training him, and in the years since then, he had begun flourishing. Yzako was keeping him on his toes, forcing him to move and think in ways the rest of the crew never did, and Iroh liked that.

She finally found an opening, aiming a fiery kick at Zuko’s ribs. He caught her foot and pushed her back, countering every attack she sent his way. 

As they sparred, she just felt herself growing more frustrated. Instead of impatient, now she was dissatisfied with how good a fight he was putting up. She wanted to win, and as she finally managed to hook her leg under Zuko’s and sweep it out from under him, she was once again reminded that she could just kill him then and there and return to the Fire Lord. 

Those thoughts were abandoned as he did the same thing he had done to Zhao, though, and Yzako suddenly found herself on her back. She leaped to her feet, yelling in anger and effort as her arms engulfed themselves in flame. She had more energy pent up inside of her than she realized, and she wanted to take it all out on him. 

Zuko didn’t dodge the way that she had, instead blocking her every move. She was losing her form, her anger getting the best of her. The two were moving quickly, but he was beginning to slow down, unable to keep up with the onslaught that this crazy, angry girl was bringing down upon him. As he tried to hold his own, he realized that Yzako was leaving her middle open, and he did the only thing he could think of and aimed a punch at her sternum.

She shrieked in surprise, stumbling back and staring at him while she caught her breath. The punch hadn’t hurt so much as caught her off guard, and she retaliated by simply tackling him out of rage. 

As Zuko tried to kick her off, they rolled across the deck, legs and arms twisting as their sparring devolved into little more than a schoolyard tussle. Yzako had half a mind to bite him out of frustration, but she finally threw her weight enough that she was able to straddle his hips and hold him down. She just stared, teeth bared in an ugly snarl, eyes shining with angry fire as she caught her breath. 

She could do it. She could kill him. His wrists were pinned and he was tired. She had every advantage over him. As she looked down at him, she heard Ozai’s voice in her head telling her to do it, threatening her with a lifetime of suffering if she didn’t. It could be quick. It could be over in the blink of an eye, and she would be in the Fire Lord’s good graces. She could be on her way to earning her freedom. 

While she stared at him, Zuko found himself looking up at her. He had been less than pleased to find that his uncle had invited this girl aboard, and his mood towards her had soured further when Iroh informed him that he would be training her. Yzako was just one more thing to deal with, one more distraction to take his focus off his mission to capture the avatar. She was also a reminder of the home he had been banished from, her silk robes and Golden Dragon crown rubbing his memories of palace life in his face. He was jealous that she had been given orders by his father, and jealous that she had been allowed into the royal household while he was out freezing his ass off at the south pole. 

Still, she had the most gorgeous eyes he had ever seen, and he found himself thinking back to his agni kai with Zhao. He could still imagine her hands holding his face as she breathed that strange blessing, and the memory caused heat to stir within him. Even as she snarled down at him, her face ugly and insufferable as she bared her teeth, he found her beautiful. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

“Get off me,” he growled. 

She seemed surprised for a moment, as if he had interrupted her thoughts. Still, she rolled away, standing and brushing herself off. “Thanks for the fight.”

As she walked away, Zuko sat up. He didn’t know what to think of the angry dragon girl he was suddenly dealing with now. He watched as she returned to where his uncle was standing near the rail and the two exchanged words, Yzako bowing and sitting so that she could continue her breathing. Her change in attitude was breakneck; one moment she looked like she wanted to kill him, the next she was practically meditating. Zuko hated that he didn’t hate it.

He went back to his own exercises, spending the rest of the day with his back turned to Yzako. He didn’t want to look at her and get stuck in his own head again. Besides, he didn’t trust her in the slightest; she had boarded their ship late in the evening after his agni kai, hurriedly and with nothing more than a travel pack. If she had really been given orders to do something as straightforward and benign as inspecting troops, transportation would have been arranged for every leg of her journey. 

Not to mention it would be a waste of a perfectly good dragon girl to simply send her on a mission as stupid as that.

No, Yzako wasn’t to be trusted. Zuko was a lot of things, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew there was far more to her than whatever story she was trying to sell everyone else. Frankly, he didn’t care what she was up to as long as she stayed out of his way. Maybe her connection to his father would even be helpful in regaining his honor once they had the avatar. 

He continued his daily training, finally taking a break when the ship docked at a small harbor town to resupply. Uncle Iroh and Yzako had disappeared, most likely getting ready for dinner, and Zuko returned to his chamber to do the same. For the past few nights, the three had been dining together, Iroh and Yzako often taking tea several times during the day as well. Zuko didn’t like any of it, but he didn’t hate it; Yzako stayed quiet during meals, leaving Iroh to make small talk as usual. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary, and in some ways, having the girl around felt normal.

Yazko strolled in, dressed in her usual red and black clothing instead of the decadent golden robes Zuko had first seen her in back at Zhao’s harbor. She hadn’t worn her gold headpiece since boarding their ship, and its absence made her look...normal. Instead of some kind of aristocrat, or official, or whatever she was now, she just looked like a normal Fire Nation girl. 

It was a nice look on her, he decided.

“Yzako,” Iroh greeted. 

She bowed her head and sat down, ignoring Zuko. 

“The least you can say is hello,” he sneered. 

She looked up at him. “Hello, Prince Zuko.”

The way she said it made him wish she just hadn’t spoken to him. Her voice was strained, as if she could barely force herself to speak his name. 

“I was quite impressed with both of you today,” Uncle Iroh said, ignoring the tension in the room. “You are both strong firebenders, but there is still much for you to learn.”

“Yes, Iroh,” Yzako said, looking down at the table. She felt...embarrassed? Maybe? About her angry outburst earlier. After their fight, she had returned to her breathing exercises, humbly sitting before Iroh and quietly breathing until he told her it was time for a break. 

Zuko frowned. She was so...strange.

The door opened and the chef brought them their dinner, setting large platters of fish down on the table. He leaned over and whispered something to the prince, and just as Yzako was about to dig in, he jumped to his feet. 

“The avatar is on Kyoshi Island?” he half asked, half yelled. “Uncle, ready the rhinos. He’s not getting away from me this time.”

Yzako watched him storm out of the room. The avatar? Now? It could be her chance to grab him and run back to Ozai. 

“Are you going to finish that?” Iroh asked, pointing at Zuko’s dinner. 

“I was going to save it for later!” Zuko yelled, walking back to grab the plate before stomping out. 

Iroh hunched his shoulders, folding his arms over his chest and grumbling to himself. Yzako watched and had to hide her small smile. Their interactions were endearing, and as she leaned forward to cut into her dinner so that she could try to scarf down as much as possible before Zuko came yelling about rhinos again, she couldn’t help but laugh. Again, she was conflicted; seeing Zuko behave like a human being made her...what? Not want to kill him? Yeah, something like that. 

Before she knew it, though, she was putting on her fancy golden crown as the ship docked at a small Earth Kingdom island. Iroh stayed behind, preferring to finish dinner rather than get caught up in anything (not to mention, he told Yzako, komodo rhinos really hurt his back end). 

With only a few rhinos stabled below deck, Yzako found herself riding with Zuko. She sat behind him, begrudgingly wrapping her arms around his waist to keep her balance. Luckily, she couldn’t see the slight tinge of pink that spread across his face. 

“Come out, avatar!” he yelled as they rode into the village. “You can’t hide from me forever!”

Yzako caught the slight movements of people ducking away into their homes, some continuing to peek through windows. They weren’t going to fight? It seemed...suspicious, to say the least. 

“Zuko, something is off,” she hissed in his ear as his men fanned out to search for the avatar. 

Before she could even finish her words, flurries of green shot out from seemingly nowhere, one heading straight towards their rhino. She let go of Zuko’s waist, freeing him so that he could try to take the warrior down with fire, but it was only when the rhino turned and slammed its tail into them that the mysterious attacker was thrown off course. 

Yzako could see now that the warrior was a girl, and another came to her rescue and used fans to deflect Zuko’s shots.

“I guess training is over!” they yelled with a distinctly masculine voice. 

Yzako didn’t get the chance to wonder about it. Zuko was suddenly gone, pulled to the ground by more of the warriors in green, and she was left to grab the rhino’s reins and get it under control again. It ran several steps before she pulled it back enough, and she turned to see Zuko facing what appeared to be a young airbender.

Was that...the avatar? 

She watched as he threw Zuko to the ground before taking to the air, his staff suddenly becoming a glider that carried him. Yzako gritted her teeth and kicked the rhino on, following after the boy. Holding the reins in her right hand, she readied a flame in her left, throwing it in his direction.

The avatar swerved to the side, looking back. She saw his eyes widen as he took her in. He was probably expecting to see Zuko, not this girl who was snarling as she urged her rhino to run faster. 

“Go away!” the airbender yelled, circling around.

Yzako grinned, bracing herself for a fight. This could be her chance to take him down. Then she could at least take the avatar back to the Fire Nation, and hope that it was enough to buy her freedom from Ozai. 

As fire spread up her arm, Yzako saw fear and confusion on the avatar’s face. It only lasted a moment, though, before he took his staff in both hands and used it to swing down towards her, creating a massive blast of air that sent her rhino skidding away and her flying off of it. The flames engulfing her arm surged with the added wind, almost burning her skin before going out as she lost focus and hit the ground. 

When she looked up again, the avatar was nowhere to be seen, and her rhino was running back towards the burning village. 

Yzako let out a frustrated scream, the kind she imagined Zuko would at a time like that. She had come so close, and then hadn’t even been given the opportunity to fight the avatar? She was beginning to see why Zuko had lost him when he had him in custody.

The kid was a lot tougher than he looked.

She ran after her rhino, finally reaching the firebenders just as a torrential downpour rained down on them. Zuko was angry, probably even angrier than she was. Yzako was burning so hotly that the water was turning to steam the moment it hit her skin. When she looked up to see that it was coming from the mouth of a huge sea serpent, she just snarled and threw her hands up in defeat, trudging back to the cruiser before Zuko even had the chance to give the order. 

She hated not winning, and seeing the avatar slip out of her fingers so easily was almost maddening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're starting to get a little closer...Zuko is an awkward turtleduck, but Yzako has no clue what she's doing. I can't wait for you guys to see the next few chapters, when things start to really get moving!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's left kudos <3


	7. Tits And A Big Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako settles into life on Zuko's ship, and while she slowly begins growing more comfortable, she begins to notice some of the less...savory things some of the men are saying about her. Zuko notices, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a little filler before some more exciting stuff! I'm trying to pace my updates here so I can keep working on future chapters and make sure I always have something to upload. I actually have all the way up to chapter thirteen written, and a lot of plot figured out all the way throughout book one and the start of two!

Over the next few weeks, Yzako found herself settling in. Life on the ship wasn’t too bad, and she spent most of her time training or helping Iroh. The retired general had managed to find a new room for her to move into so that he could have his old quarters back, and after clearing out some weapons racks and doing some shopping when they stopped to refuel at a colonized harbor town, it was just as homely as any other bed chamber. 

She continued “working” for Iroh in exchange for his teaching, but it was far from actual labor. He liked to have her fetch tea, read scrolls to him while they relaxed in the shade, and recite his own poetry to her. He even began teaching her to play pai sho at night, when the Golden Dragon would manifest and sit on the deck with them.

Kul was great at the game, presumably because he had played it at some point in his long life. Yzako would just sit up against the spirit dragon and try to follow along. After the third night in a row of this, she realized that Iroh had been using it as a way to force her to concentrate on something that wasn’t based around fighting or anger, and in turn, it was helping Kul maintain his form for longer periods of time. 

She was still keeping the dragon a secret from Zuko. The prince didn’t need to know, and while she was beginning to accept that she wasn’t going to kill him, she didn’t trust him. He was desperate to restore his honor, and as the son of the Fire Lord who had gotten her into this mess, there was always a chance he would end up just as power hungry as his father. She didn’t like to think about it, but as she found herself caring less and less about figuring out a way to fulfill her mission, she started wondering what would happen when Zuko did capture the avatar. 

Ozai would kill the airbender boy, and find a way to ensure that no one could stand in his way. Was that a good thing? Yzako didn’t know much about the 100 Year War the Fire Nation was waging, but with everything that had happened in her life, she had some mixed feelings on her home country. 

When they had stopped at a Fire Nation prison where the avatar had recently been spotted, Yzako found herself standing next to Zuko. There had been a mass breakout, earthbender prisoners from occupied villages all suddenly freed by the avatar and his friends...and as the sun set, the sky turning to a fiery orange, Yzako wondered if the world was simply going to be set ablaze if Ozai got his way. 

She watched Zuko stop to pick something up, her eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

He turned to her. “The waterbender girl’s necklace.”

“What use is it?”

“It’s important to her.” he closed his fist around it. “It might be useful.”

He looked back out over the water for a long minute and she briefly wondered what he was thinking about before he suddenly gave the order to head back to the ship. She followed at his side, staring forward while the crew all stared at her. How did she look to them, she wondered? A mysterious, well-dressed girl who spoke so little but snarled so loudly. She wondered what sort of rumors floated amongst them, like the rumors that she had caught wind of back at the palace. Maybe she would get to find out one day.  
The crew continued largely avoiding her, though, and she didn’t mind. She caught them staring from time to time, and they were always greeted with a nasty sneer anytime they seemed like they might try to leer at her. These men had been at sea for months, maybe even years, and she wasn’t about to let some lonely Fire Nation sailors think they could even have the honor of looking at the Golden Dragon. 

She was unsocialized, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew what some of those men were after, especially when she was out training under the sun in just her breast binder and pants. Whenever she thought someone was looking at her for too long, they would soon find some accidental flames heading their way. She was sure many of them were honorable men who were willing to mind their business, but she was always growing more and more sure that some of them were...otherwise inclined. 

“Look at her,” a hushed voice said. 

“What a sight for sore eyes…”

“Think the prince brought her aboard to do more than train?”

A chuckle. “I know they gotta be doing more than just training…”

“Tits and a big ass like that? I don’t blame the prince one bit.”

“I could stare at ‘em for days….”

“Wanna speak up a little?” She snarled, sending an arc of fire out from her arm. 

A group of a few men jumped back towards the rail, angry and embarrassed that she had caught them ogling her as she stretched. They were a bunch of nobodies, just some irritating crew members that loved to watch her. 

“Yzako, calm down,” Prince Zuko growled in front of her. 

She turned to him with such a rage in her eyes that he froze, like a dragonmoose in lantern light. A hint of that cold, ethereal wind blew past her ears, a loose strand of her hair moving with it as she heard a faint growl. She wasn’t the only one who hated hearing their little whispers to each other; the Golden Dragon wanted to tear those without honor apart, crush them with his big jaws and then spit them back out again for everyone to see. 

Yzako found her center again and let out a powerful exhale, steam billowing from her nostrils as she closed her eyes. “You’re right. Forgive me.”

Zuko just made a hmph and looked past her at the men. “Get back to your stations.”

They hesitated until Yzako cracked an eye open and glared, sending them scattering. Once they were gone, she continued her stretches, finishing them before standing and starting her exercises. She would be watching out for them later. For now, it felt better to just focus on her muscles, her breathing, her firebending. Everything that would distract her from the uncomfortable reality that men loved the way she looked.

She hadn’t had to deal with it much before. The sages all saw her as a beast to tame, and at the palace, she was the Fire Lord’s little project. She had read and later heard from the palace maids about the way men could be, but...that was all a bit different than experiencing it first hand.

She just knew that she didn’t like it. She didn’t like the way they watched her like she was a piece of meat, and while she was getting used to the staring, the comments were...harder to stomach. 

-

“Yzako,” she turned in surprise to see Zuko approaching her. “Wait for me.”

She was on her way back to wash up for dinner after a long day of training. “Uh...okay. Do you need something?”

“I just…” he paused, realizing that she was staring at him. “How’s, uh...your training going?”

She frowned, tilting her head. They spent half of their time together, so why would he ask that when he could see so much of it for himself? “It’s...fine, I think. Why do you ask?”

He returned her stare, his face heating up as the silence grew longer and more awkward. He felt like an idiot. He had wanted to bring up the crew members from earlier, ask her if they bothered her, promise her that they wouldn’t be annoying her anymore if she wanted them to stop. As he looked at those burning eyes, though, he realized he didn’t actually know what to say. 

“Just...uh…” shit, he didn’t go into this with any plan at all. “You spend a lot of time learning from my uncle.”

“Yeah. I guess I do.” 

Zuko looked like he wanted to say more, then thought better of it. “I’ll see you at dinner.” 

Yzako watched him go, staring after him curiously. The prince was definitely an odd one. She shrugged it off, though, heading to her room to wash the sweat off her skin and change into fresh clothes.

As she glanced in the mirror on her way out, she stopped to look at herself. Less than a month ago she had been living at the palace, and only a few months before that she had been confined to her cell at the Fire Sage temple. Her face looked different somehow now, and she wasn’t entirely sure in what way; it wasn’t necessarily any harder or softer than it had been, and she didn’t have any new scars to show. She just seemed...different, as if she didn’t really recognize herself anymore. 

Tits and a big ass.

The man’s words rang in her ears as she studied herself, turning a little. Did she have a big ass..? She had never stopped to think about it before. She supposed it was pretty well muscled, from all her years of fighting. She tugged at the fabric of her pants a little, pulling them tighter. She really didn’t have much to compare it to, but...maybe they were right.

Her tits, though...she had always hidden those under wrappings, somehow almost...ashamed of them? Not that she didn’t like them, just...had never stopped to consider herself attractive before. She almost never even had a mirror to look at in the temple, making do with her reflection in water basins. 

With a slight frown, she headed out the door. 

“Yzako, welcome,” Iroh bowed his head as she entered, already seated. Zuko was there, too, but he just glanced at her and then looked away again, acting just as weird as usual. 

Yzako bowed to both of them before taking her seat, the chef bringing out their food and setting it on the table as usual. She was digging in, scarfing her food down as if she were starving, when Zuko finally spoke. 

“We’ll be stopping to refuel tomorrow.” he said, cutting into his meat and wrinkling his nose at the way Yzako tore into hers. “We need to resupply.”

“Perfect!” Uncle Iroh said, a large smile on his face. “This coast is known for its hot springs. We could all use a day of some much needed rest.”

Zuko’s face twisted. “We don’t have time for hot springs, uncle.”

“Nonsense!”

“We’re close to the avatar. We can’t waste any time!” Zuko said angrily. 

“You need to take breaks for your own health, nephew,” Iroh said, unbothered by the prince’s raised voice. He cut into his food and enjoyed a few bites before speaking again. “I am sure both you and Yzako would benefit from a rest in the hot springs.”

Zuko’s nostrils flared with anger as he looked over at Yzako as if this were her fault. She just looked back at him, swallowing a large mouthful of her dinner that left her throat hurting. 

“I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that.” she said. 

Zuko’s expression softened slightly. It felt like the longest sentence she had ever said over dinner with them. She usually just sat there and ate like a starved animal rather than partaking in any real conversation. 

“Hot springs sound nice.” she shrugged and then went back to her food. 

“Excellent!” Iroh said. “We will visit them while the ship refuels. It will do wonders for my old back.”

Zuko slumped back in his chair, grumbling something about wasting time. Yzako watched him from the corner of her eye, a little amused by him. He was almost childlike, with his pouting and tantrums. Iroh had told her that the prince was just a year and some older than she was, and it was surprising to see that his years of exile hadn’t done anything to fix his spoiled attitude. 

When dinner ended, he called after her, much like he had before. “Yzako!”

She stopped and turned to face him again. “Yes?”

“Uh...what I wanted to ask earlier…” he looked sheepish. “Are any of the crew bothering you?”

She just blinked at him. “Why do you ask?” 

“Because...because I always see you get angry with them!” he blurted out. 

“Why do you care?” she asked flatly, folding her arms over her chest, partly in an attempt to hide those tits the men had been talking about earlier. “I can take care of myself.”

“I…” he froze again, like he always did under her gaze. “Because I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable on my ship!”

“And I’m not here to cause trouble.” she set her jaw. 

“Are they upsetting you or not?” his voice was laced with irritation now. 

She started walking towards her room and he followed. “They’re annoying.”

Zuko frowned angrily. Annoying, huh? “They won’t bother you anymore.”

She sighed and stopped in front of him, turning around so quickly that he almost ran into her. “What are you going to do? Make a big deal out of it? Like I said, I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to train with Iroh and mind my business.”

“When you’re on my ship, your business is my business.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“That I care about your feelings!”

His face dropped in surprise the moment the words left his mouth and they both just stared at each other. Zuko’s heart rate sped up as he watched her, suddenly desperate for any sort of reaction. He hadn’t meant to just say that! 

“I...uh…” for once, Yzako was the awkward one who didn’t know what to say. How was she supposed to respond to that? No one had ever said something like that to her. She didn’t know how to even begin processing it. 

“Thank you,”

“I’m sorry,”

They stumbled over their words at the same time, both feeling like idiots. 

“You’re welcome,”

“Don’t be,” 

They both blurted again. 

Yzako couldn’t help but let out a little laugh at that. She seemed to relax slightly, and that made Zuko let out the breath he had been holding. 

“Thank you, Zuko.” she said, more genuinely, a small smile on her lips. 

Spirits, her smile was pretty. 

“Don’t worry about it,” the prince said, trying to sound calm . “Can I, uh...walk you to your room?”

“Why? Worried I’ll get jumped on my way down the hall?” she teased, motioning for him to follow her anyways. 

“You can never be too careful.”

She frowned, but tried to cover it quickly. “I suppose that’s true.”

They stopped in front of her room and Zuko turned to face her. “I need to know...are you joining me in hunting the avatar?”

“Yes.” she said, mustering as much confidence as she could. She wasn’t lying. 

“Is that what my father sent you to do?”

“My mission from the Fire Lord is classified.” 

Zuko frowned. “Don’t keep secrets from me.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” she asked, opening the door. “You’re keeping plenty from me. Goodnight, Zuko.”

He just stood there, dumbfounded as she walked in and closed the door behind her. Part of him wanted to go in after her, to throw the door open and...what? Confront her? Yell at her for always having such a bad temper and speaking so rudely half the time? 

Or...did he actually just want to march in there and kiss her?

His face heated up as he turned on his heel and stormed away to his chambers. He needed to get away from her before he actually did go rushing into her room and just make things more awkward. And besides...the tightness in his pants needed some attention. 

On the other side of the door, Yzako leaned against the metal wall, trying to figure out why her heart was beating so quickly. The prince had been acting strange all day, and that conversation was just the icing on the cake. As she got ready for her evening meditation, she couldn’t concentrate, thoughts of Zuko floating around in her head. 

Shit. Did she...kind of like him?

It was a foreign concept to her, having a crush on someone. Much less the banished prince of the Fire Nation. Much less someone she had agreed to kill just a fews weeks ago. As she found herself smiling at the thought of him, though, she realized with a groan that she was wishing he was there with her. 

The stupid, annoying, traitorous prince. She spent her days watching him lose his temper at anyone and anything in sight. He was spoiled, and angry, and she still found herself wondering what the massive scar on his face was from. He was arrogant and thought he was promised the world if he could capture the avatar. 

He was all of those things, and yet, she could catch glimpses of that confused, sad boy in his eyes. She could still remember the day she saw him, all those years ago just after Azulon had died, and wondered what had happened for that scared, lonely child to find himself banished from his country and crown.


	8. Earthbenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh and Yzako are kidnapped at the hot springs by a group of earthbenders.

Yzako smiled to herself, sinking down into the warm water. She exhaled some steam, heating it up even more. The hot springs were settled a ways inland from the coast, tucked into a peaceful bamboo grove. It was quiet, the sounds of birds chirping and the bubble of water running down into the springs from the river above the only things breaking the silence. 

Well, that and Iroh.

“Ahh.” he sighed loudly, stretching his arms back behind his head. “Isn’t this nice?”

Yzako snorted a laugh. She was in the pool next to his, separated by a short rock wall almost as if they were baths at a Fire Nation sauna. “It is, General.”

“Yzako, please!” he looked at her incredulously. “I keep telling you...please, call me Iroh. Or, call me Uncle!”

She smiled a little. “You aren’t my uncle, Iroh.”

“But what an honor it would be!” he laughed loudly. 

She chuckled along with him before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. The water was scalding, but it felt amazing on her tense muscles. Iroh had been right the night before; this was a much needed rest, and the short walk to the springs had been nice. It was good to be back on land instead of the metal ship for once. 

Besides, Zuko had acted so strangely towards her the night before that she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She had barely managed to meditate at all after he walked her to her room, and when Kul was able to materialize, the dragon just made throaty, coughing chuckles at her and chastised her all night. 

Then, in the morning, Zuko was even worse, refusing to look her in the eye and speaking to Iroh instead of her when they asked if he was going to the hot springs with them. It had annoyed and confused her, and she hated both of those sensations.

“How are things going between you and my nephew, Yzako?” Iroh spoke up.

Her eyes snapped open. How had he known that’s what she was thinking about?

“Uh...normal, I suppose.” she lied. “Why?”

“I think it has been good for him to have someone his own age on the ship.” Iroh smiled mischievously. “He enjoys your company.”

She stared, hoping her face wasn’t reddening. “I doubt that. We barely speak.”

“That is more than could be said for most.” he laughed again. “The prince can be difficult to understand. He has had a hard life.”

Yzako scoffed but then frowned a moment later. She thought it was ridiculous that anyone growing up in that palace would ever want for anything, but she had also heard how Azula spoke about him….not to mention the fact that his own father wanted him dead. 

“Much as you have, I suspect.”

She looked over at him. “What do you know about my life?”

“I know that your life has forced you to be strong.” he smiled, a bit sadly. “Because you had no other option.”

Yzako watched him for a moment, meeting his eyes before looking down again. She had never thought about that. What would things have been like, if she had simply been born at a different time or place? She could have had a normal life. She could have just grown up like every other kid. 

But she didn’t, and there wasn’t much point in dwelling on could haves.

She closed her eyes, trying to settle into the gentle water. As she enjoyed the warmth, she felt herself beginning to doze off. It was so quiet for a change, the air nice and fresh, no one bothering her. 

“Uncle!”

Well...that was short lived.

Zuko came storming through the bamboo. “It’s time to leave! Where are you?”

Yzako just sighed. So much for a nice relaxing day.

“Uncle Iroh!” the prince sounded angry as he headed towards them, catching sight of the tree their clothing was hanging from. His face reddened when he spotted Yzako’s top and pants, and...her underwear?

“Over here!” Iroh called, not bothering to open his eyes or make any move to get out of the water. 

“Uncle?” Zuko pushed a branch out of the way and suddenly he saw them, each soaking happily in their own little pool. He looked over at Yzako, who had finally picked her head back up and opened her eyes.

Was she naked? She was definitely naked, wasn’t she? His blush only deepened, and he was sure the rest of his face matched his scar. He could see the tops of her full breasts above the water and gulped. He had spent all night thinking about her, and now seeing her in front of him like this was almost too much.

“Something bothering you, Prince Zuko?” Iroh asked.

“N-no!” he balled his hands into fists. “We need to move on. We’re closing in on the avatar’s trail, and I don’t want to lose him!”

“You look tired, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said, spreading his arms. “Why don’t you join us in these hot springs and soak away your troubles?”

Zuko’s face scrunched in irritation. “My troubles cannot be soaked away. It’s time to go!”

“You should take your teacher’s advice and relax a little,” Yzako smirked, noticing the prince’s discomfort. “The temperature’s just right. I heated it myself.” She exhaled some more steam to prove her point.

Zuko paused. A pretty girl, inviting him into a hot spring with her? A pretty naked girl. The pretty naked girl he had just spent all night fantasizing over.

No way would he survive that.

He waved the steam away. “We need to leave. Now. Get out of the water.”

She shrugged. “If you insist.”

The second she began to stand, Zuko regretted his words. He almost caught a glimpse of her nudity before he covered his face quickly, looking away and hiding his blush behind his hand. 

“On second thought, why don’t you take a few minutes?” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to imagine what was standing just in front of him.

Iroh chuckled and Yzako smirked. She sank back down into the water smugly. If this was the effect her naked body had on him, she had to admit, she kind of liked the convenience of shutting him up so easily. 

“Be back at the ship in half an hour, or I’m leaving without both of you!” Zuko yelled as he stomped back the way he came. 

“Well, I think that should settle it,” Iroh said mischievously. 

Yzako’s head whipped around to look at him. “What?”

“Oh, nothing!” he waved her away, chuckling to himself again. “Now, as your tutor, I think this would be the perfect time...for a nice, soothing nap.” he yawned, and within minutes, he was snoring. 

Yzako just laughed and closed her own eyes once more.

-

When she opened her eyes again, it wasn’t of her own volition. 

Just as she was rousing from a nap, she felt the heat of fire in her throat and barely managed to open her mouth in time to let it out. She splashed in surprise, coughing as she tried to right herself just in time to figure out exactly why Kul’s spirit had woken her up in such a rude and desperate manner. 

The ground was rumbling, a few seconds of something that felt like a small earthquake shaking her before rocks were suddenly jutting out from her hot spring. She was suddenly caged in, surrounded by sharp shards of earth and unable to move anything as a group of men in green uniforms came creeping out of the bamboo. 

Yzako craned her head to the side as far as she could, seeing that Iroh was in a similar situation. Her heart was pounding in her chest, something like panic setting in as she realized how much this felt like being imprisoned by the Fire Sages. 

“They’re Fire Nation soldiers!” one of them said as he grabbed her clothing off the tree branch where she had left it. 

“Put that down!” Yzako snarled, struggling against the rocks holding her still. 

“This one’s no ordinary soldier,” another man walked towards Iroh. “This is the Fire Lord’s brother, the Dragon of the West. The once great General Iroh. But now? He and this little girl are our prisoners.”

Yzako growled, Kul’s angry voice amplifying her own. “Who do you think you are?”

“Calm down, little lady,” the earthbender smirked, turning towards her. “We won’t hurt you...much. Grab them both!”

The screech that came out of her mouth was nearly inhuman, and the men that had started towards her faltered as smoke began billowing from her mouth and nostrils. Her eyes were wide, like a scared, crazed beast as she thrashed. 

“I said grab her!” the man repeated, louder this time. 

The others advanced on her again, and as she was opening her jaws to let out a hot jet of dragon’s fire, her head suddenly snapped back. She tasted dirt as a piece of earth was slapped over her mouth, effectively muzzling her, and she had to breathe the rest of the smoke and steam back out through her nose before it could heat up her chest too much and cause actual damage. 

It took three earthbenders to wrestle Yzako down and chain her wrists and ankles, the leader looking on with a smirk as she struggled. Without her mouth to breathe fire at them, once they had her hands and feet bound, it was easy enough to avoid the haphazard flames that she was trying to throw. 

Inside her head, Kul was furious. The dragon was roaring in her ears, practically screaming for her to get away. He hated the chains just as much as she did, if not even more. She was fully prepared to keep shrieking and fighting until her neck broke if she had to, a primal fear inside of her unlocking as kicked and scratched until she couldn’t anymore. 

When she caught Iroh’s calm, narrowed eyes, though, she fell still. He shook his head slightly, a tiny movement she almost missed, and she just stared back, her own eyes still wide as she laid on the ground panting. If Iroh had a plan, she was going to follow it. Kul was going to follow it, too, the dragon’s spirit resting inside of her again with a quiet hiss that she could hear on the breeze around her. 

It was hard to keep calm when a man picked her up and threw her over his shoulder for her naked ass to be seen by the entire world, though. 

She took note of the fact that Iroh was given his undergarments and sandals back, but hers were left at the tree. When she was set down on the back of an ostrich horse, she covered herself as much as she could, not out of fear or embarrassment, but out of the sheer anger she was harboring towards these strangers. She noticed Iroh constantly trying to avoid looking at her, the old man probably fully aware of what their captors could be planning for Yzako. 

She wasn’t about to let it happen. She knew Iroh wasn’t, either, but even if she were alone, she would find a way to burn down that entire forest if she had to. For the moment, though, she was trusting the old man; maybe he knew something about these earthbenders that she didn’t, or maybe going with them could lead them to someone more worth the effort of taking down. She had never even met an earthbender before, and shit, Iroh had laid siege to Ba Sing Se. She was willing to trust his knowledge of them for the time being. 

The sky darkened above them as the day stretched on into evening. Where was Zuko? Had he actually just left them and set off after the avatar? She wouldn’t put it past him, but if she ever got out of this mess, she was going to kill him. For herself this time, not because Ozai wanted her to. 

“Look at her,” the man riding the ostrich horse in front of hers said with a glance back. “What’s she doing with an old man like him?”

She narrowed her eyes. 

“He was once the crown prince of the Fire Nation,” the one whose back she was pushed up against laughed. “He’s got money. Think he can’t afford a nice little bed warmer?”

Stay quiet, she told herself. Kul growled in response. 

“Wouldn’t want something that insane as my royal little concubine.”

“Maybe the Dragon of the West keeps all his consorts in fighting shape,” another man scoffed. “Personally, I think I like it.” he spurred his ostrich horse and came closer to Yzako, leering at her. 

If it weren’t for her rock muzzle, she would have bitten the grin off his stupid face. 

“Well, finders keepers!” the first man shouted. 

The others all laughed. 

“Where are you taking us?” Iroh spoke up, a bitter tinge to his voice. 

“We’re taking you to face justice,” the leader said. 

Yzako rolled her eyes. 

“Right,” Iroh said slowly. His arms were crossed in front of his chest in an uncomfortable position, his knees drawn up much like hers were. “But where, specifically?”

“A place you’re quite familiar with, actually. You once laid siege to it for six hundred days. But it would not yield to you.”

“Ah, the great city of Ba Sing Se,” Iroh said, looking up thoughtfully. 

“It was greater than you were, apparently.”

“I acknowledge my defeat at Ba Sing Se!” Iroh said. “After six hundred days away from home, my men were tired, and I was tired.” he yawned pointedly, and Yzako would have laughed if she could. He had something up his sleeve. “And I’m still tired.”

He leaned into the man in front of him for a moment before flopping off the ostrich horse and onto the ground with a loud thud. What was he playing at, pretending to be some senile old man like this?

The earthbenders all made noises of disgust, stopping to collect him again. Yzako gave the man riding in front of her a small kick in the ass when he dismounted, and when he snapped around to face her, she could swear for a moment that he was going to hit her. Instead, he just met her eyes and grimaced angrily before helping the others pick Iroh back up. When he got back on the ostrich horse, he elbowed her sharply in the ribs and he gasped, coughing behind the stone mask. 

“Don’t you dare try that again,” he hissed at her before they took off again. 

She grunted in protest but stayed still, looking back at the road behind instead. Growing smaller and smaller, on the ground, she could make out the shape of one of Iroh’s sandals and grinned. He was an old man, but he was a sly one. 

They rode through the night, Yzako’s butt growing sore as the hours crept on. When the hell was something going to happen? Her legs were cramped, her arms were cramped, her lower face was getting sweaty behind her muzzle...she had no idea if she could take on all four earthbenders, but she was willing to try if she got desperate enough. 

She finally managed to doze off at one point, and when she awoke, it was to the sound of Iroh gasping loudly. She felt Kul grumble around her and she looked up just in time to see a long, ethereal shape flying above them, one she had only ever seen in her dreams and aboard the ship at night. 

A dragon spirit. 

Iroh was watching it, too, his eyes wide. He looked over at her in slight disbelief and she returned the glance before the earthbender leader snapped at them. 

“What’s the problem?” he asked sternly.

“N-nothing!” Iroh said quickly. 

Yzako nodded in agreement. 

“...Actually, there is a bit of a problem,” Iroh recanted. “My old joints are feeling sore and achey, and these shackles are too loose!”

“Too loose?” he asked skeptically. 

“That’s right! The cuffs are loose, and they jangle around and bump my wrists. It would help me if you would tighten them, so they wouldn’t shake around so much.”

“Very well.” wow, that actually worked? Yzako was starting to wish that she could pretend to be a senile old man too. “Corporal, tighten the prisoner’s handcuffs.”

They all halted, Iroh’s ostrich horse kneeling down so the corporal could step off. Yzako watched closely as Iroh sat patiently, then exhaled steam onto the cuffs just before the earthbender went to grab them. 

The man screamed so loudly that Yzako was smiling from ear to ear under her mask. 

Iroh jumped forward a few steps, kicking with both his bound legs and sending a fireball towards her ostrich horse. It spooked and she rolled out of the saddle, landing on her side in the dirt and coughing as she looked around wildly. She caught sight of Iroh rolling towards the path’s edge and she gladly followed, falling into a pit and landing in a pile of loose dirt. 

Were they doing this now? 

She didn’t know if Iroh was on board, but she wasn’t waiting another second. 

She struggled to stand and gave up after a few seconds as she heard the earthbenders coming after her, steam and smoke pouring from her nose as her chest began heating up. Kul was snarling, his spirit lending its heat as her entire body began feeling like it was on fire. 

Looking down at her wrists, she saw the chains glowing a bright red just like Iroh’s had a moment ago, and she managed to bring her feet up and give a savage tug that broke a few links in the middle and freed her hands. 

She sat up. Their captors were surfing down the cliffside. Looking back down, she focused on the chains binding her feet and pulled herself free, standing just in time to run back a few steps. 

“Get her!” the leader yelled as she rushed towards Iroh. 

“They’re too dangerous to carry to the capital!” another yelled as he headed towards Yzako. “We have to do something, now!”

The men lunged for Yzako and she jumped back, nearly tripping over the broken chains still hanging from her wrists and ankles. She still needed to get rid of the stupid muzzle on her face, but when she reached up to claw at it, it wouldn’t budge. 

She groaned angrily. 

The soldiers were advancing on her, backing her up against the cliff wall. As she tripped back again she caught sight of Iroh, where he was stuck in a heap of dirt. 

“I’ve got this one,” the leader said, standing over him. “They must both be dealt with immediately and severely.”

Yzako found herself bending as clumsily as possible, trying to get used to the chains swinging from her hands as she kept the earthbenders at bay. She was constantly moving, trying to avoid the fissures that opened up beneath her feet and the rocks that came jutting out at her. She wasn’t about to be caught again. 

The leader was dragging Iroh over to a large boulder at the end of the quarry, and as Yzako danced away and narrowly dodged being pulled down into the earth, she realized they were trying to separate her from her teacher. Two of the other soldiers broke off and headed towards their leader, the remaining three staying to surround and torment Yzako. 

She snarled behind her muzzle as she watched a massive boulder rise over Iroh. They were going to crush his hands? Not if she had anything to say about it. 

With a fiery kick, she whipped one of her chains towards a soldier and heard it clang off the side of his helmet. He stumbled back a few steps, dazed by the sound, and she took the opportunity to take off running towards Iroh. 

Before she could get to him, though, the boulder above him was suddenly shoved out of the way by a blur of red and black, and when it landed, she was dumbfounded to see that Zuko was there. He swung his leg up, with perfect form, she noticed, and brought his heel down on the taught chains holding Iroh’s wrists together. 

“Excellent form, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said, a confident smirk on his face as he straightened up. 

“You taught me well,” Zuko was standing in front of his uncle, his hands up at the ready to attack. 

Yzako could hear her pursuers hot on her heels and twisted around to aim a punch at one of them. He skidded to a stop, his face suddenly full of fire as he screamed at the burns. She kept running towards Iroh and Zuko, and as the Prince’s face got closer and clearer, she saw his expression drop for a moment. He looked shocked, and she wondered why for a moment before remembering that she was butt ass naked. 

“Surrender!” the leader yelled. “You’re clearly outnumbered!”

“Ah, that’s true.” Iroh said. “But you are clearly outmatched.”

The old man swung his chains at the oncoming rocks, the soldiers Yzako had tried to take out regrouping as she weaved between the other two and found herself back to back with Zuko. They were a whirlwind of flames, complementing each other--when Zuko dropped for sweeping kicks, Yzako was standing above him, covering his head. When she was ducking to avoid flying rocks, he was grabbing her shoulder to move her out of the way so that he could aim a punch at one of the earthbenders.

They dodged stone and earth as it came flying towards them, Zuko’s fire blazing hotter and bigger than before as Yzako’s back bumped into his. He glanced back at her, nearly distracting himself when he remembered just how much of her skin was bare. He didn’t get much of a chance to fantasize, though, as the earthbender before them suddenly planted his feet firmly and two massive columns of earth rose up on either side of him. 

Oh. 

Shit. 

Yzako didn’t know much about earthbenders, but she was starting to understand why Iroh had given up trying to take Ba Sing Se. 

“Give up!” the soldier yelled. 

“Never!” Zuko answered, aiming a kick at him. 

Kul was thriving, like he always did in battle, and the dragon’s lust for war and honor was fueling her fire. She hadn’t had a real fight like this since the palace, when Azula had dueled her. She felt her throat heating up again, and before she could stop it, that same white hot flame sneaking out of her mouth. She was afraid for a moment, worried that she would suffocate or burn behind the rock muzzle, but when she realized she was still breathing and standing, she felt the earth on her face softening until it melted and pooled at her feet in a puddle of lava. 

“That’s much better,” she smirked at the dumbfounded earthbenders. 

“What are you?” their leader asked, the earthen pillars on either side of him continuing to grow. 

She didn’t get a chance to answer before Iroh’s chains were wrapping around the man’s legs and pulling him down. The pillars collapsed on top of him, and as Yzako straightened up and looked around, she realized they had done it. They had actually managed to take them all down. 

Zuko was breathing heavily as he put a hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “Great. Now would you please--” he looked over at Yzako and his face began burning red. “--Put on some clothes!”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “I would if I had any to put on.”

“What?!” he yelled as Iroh chuckled and dusted his hands off. “My clothing is with the ostrich horses. Perhaps Yzako can wear my tunic, until we return to the springs.”

“How the hell did you even get captured like this?” Zuko growled as they followed Iroh up to the path they had been riding on. 

“Don’t ask me,” Yzako mumbled. “I was asleep.”

Zuko rolled his eyes and huffed, and she just shrugged before walking ahead of him. As he watched her go, his eyes found their way to her hips and ass, and the red on his face just deepened. 

Just like always. 

“Zuko, wanna stop staring?” she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. 

He froze, just like always. 

“I--I wasn’t--”

Her face suddenly broke into a smile. “I’m kidding.” she turned back around before he could see her bite her lip. “Stare all you want.”

Prince Zuko just stood there, mouth agape, as the Golden Dragon walked off. Did she just--was that--? His heart was fluttering and he almost felt sick to his stomach. She was not helping him focus on his hunt for the avatar, or the fact that he had seen the flying bison while tracking her and his uncle. 

She wasn’t necessarily helping him focus...but the way her presence made his bending so much hotter, so much more powerful, was something he couldn’t give up. That, coupled with her good looks and the fact that her eyes made his chest tighten in a way he couldn’t describe, meant that once she was wrapped up in his uncle’s ill-fitting tunic, she was seated in front of Zuko on his komodo rhino for the ride back to the ship. 

It also meant that every time the beast took an extra rough step, Zuko sucked in his breath to try to ignore her ass brushing against his crotch. 

Maybe having her ride with him wasn't his best idea...


	9. Run The Blockade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko gives the order to run the blockade, Yzako gets pissed, and then things get steamy. 
> 
> ADULT CONTENT AHEAD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ADULT CONTENT, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
> 
> (not super graphic...let me know if you all are into that though ;)

“Prince Zuko,” Yzako greeted him on the deck. 

The prince didn’t answer, his eyes trained on the sky as he looked through his spyglass.

They had called off their training for the day. The ship was sailing full steam ahead, chugging through the water faster than she had thought it could. Zuko had spent the night before questioning villagers on the coast, and claimed that they were close to the avatar. As Yzako looked up at the clouds, she couldn’t see any traces of a flying bison, but she wasn’t arguing. The prince had basically saved her and Iroh from those earthbenders just the day before, and she felt like she owed him for it. 

“Sailing into Fire Nation waters,” Iroh spoke up from next to her. “Of all the foolish things you’ve done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko, this is the most foolish.”

He was angry, and rightfully so; if Yzako weren’t holding her tongue, she would be furious. Iroh and Zuko didn’t know that she was borderline on the run from Ozai now, and she wasn’t about to let them find that out, but she would really rather not be captured in Fire Nation waters. 

“I have no choice, uncle.” Zuko said without even turning back to look at them. 

“Have you forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?” Iroh nearly yelled. It was the angriest Yzako had seen him. “What if you’re caught?”

“I’m chasing the avatar!” Zuko finally looked back at them. “My father will understand why I’m returning home!”

Ah, there it was. That painful lurch in Yzako’s chest, the same one she had felt when Zuko was trying to tell Zhao that his father was sure to restore his honor once he had the avatar. 

“You give him too much credit.” Iroh folded his arms over his chest. “My brother is not the understanding type.”

Zuko looked back at his uncle for a long moment before turning back to his spyglass. “There they are...Helmsman! Full steam ahead!”

Yzako looked towards the bow and as the clouds parted, there she saw it; the avatar’s flying bison, just ahead of them. 

A catapult raised from below deck and Yzako stepped back as Zuko lit its ammunition. The soldiers sent flying towards the bison, a heavy trail of smoke following in its wake. Yzako watched it arc into the sky and then her attention fell back to the horizon, where something very, very bad was coming into sight. 

“Zuko,” she said nervously. “That’s--”

“A blockade,” he finished, staring ahead. 

Two rows of fire navy ships were sailing in front of them, no doubt ready to sink them within the blink of an eye if they approached. 

“We have to turn around!” she insisted, stepping towards Zuko. 

“Technically, you are still in Earth Kingdom waters,” Uncle Iroh said. “Turn back now, and they cannot arrest you.”

Arrest?

ARREST?

Yzako knew her fate would be worse than prison if they were caught. 

“Zuko, please,” she pleaded. 

“He’s not turning around,” Zuko growled as the avatar’s bison continued heading forward. 

“Please, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said. “If the Fire Nation captures you, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Zuko,” Yzako grabbed the prince’s arm, yanking on it when he refused to look at her. “Zuko!”

He looked down at her, his eyes narrowed. “Run the blockade.”

“You idiot!” she yelled, letting go of his arm. “That’s Zhao’s fleet!”

Zuko frowned, but didn’t change his mind. The ship continued on, and as Yzako looked out towards the blockade, her eyes widened at what she saw. Zhao’s fleet was opening fire on them, huge fireballs flying towards the cruiser. When one hit, the ship rocked slightly, and the smell of smoke and melting steel filled the air. 

“The engines are damaged! We need to make repairs!” a crewman yelled. 

“No!” Zuko snarled. “Do not stop this ship!”

“Are you out of your mind?” Yzako screamed, more fireballs raining down and landing in the waters around them. “We have to turn around!”

“I’m not going to repeat myself,” Zuko growled, glaring at her harshly. “Either quiet down, or go below deck.”

She sneered, but kept her mouth shut as they continued forward. 

“He’s making a mistake,” Iroh said angrily, stepping up next to her as Zuko kept his attention trained on the avatar’s flying bison above them. 

“I know.” Yzako gritted her teeth. 

“His father will not be as forgiving as Zuko thinks. I can only hope that if he is arrested, they will be merciful.”

“They won’t be.” Yzako said simply, staring forward. She was aware of the look Iroh gave her, his eyes narrowed slightly as he took in her words. The girl was doing her best to avoid turning to face him, lest she give something about herself away, and it was all she could do to stop from swallowing nervously. 

She watched as the flying bison dodged Zhao’s fireballs with surprising agility, and as the avatar made it past the blockade, she wondered if they would, too. The bigger, newer, tougher Fire Nation ships ahead of them were moving to pass each other, and as their small cruiser kept going, she realized there was a good chance they would just be crushed between them. 

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about being arrested if she was just squashed instead. 

“We are on a collision course!” Iroh yelled. 

“We can make it!” Zuko insisted. 

Yzako just shook her head, staying quiet as the flagship drew nearer and nearer. She was sure Zhao was on it. She wasn’t so sure she would be able to keep her cool in front of him, though. 

As she stood next to Zuko, inching closer to him subconsciously, she looked up at the larger ship next to them and waited to hear the screeching of metal as it made impact. Any second now, she would be thrown into the sea, or just crushed, and all she could do was stare up and wait for it. 

When the ships on either side of them stopped and Zuko’s cruiser was allowed to pass, her lips parted in surprise. What was Zhao playing at? As she looked up at the deck of the bigger ship, she saw him standing there, watching her with a little smirk on his face. 

“What the hell?” she asked herself, glaring up at him. 

“Curious,” Iroh said, stroking his beard. 

“What’s he up to, Uncle?” Zuko asked, stepping forward and grabbing the rail as they sailed past the blockade. “Why didn’t Zhao arrest me?”

“Because he wants to follow you,” Iroh answered. “He knows you’ll lead him to the prize you’re both after.”

Zuko grimaced. “If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that’s exactly what I’ll let him do.”

Yzako finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw her hands in the air, making a noise of frustration and disgust. “You want to just let him take the avatar from us?”

Zuko whipped his head around to look at her. “Why do you care?”

She set her jaw. “I told you. I’m helping you.”

“Why are you so afraid of Zhao?” the Prince stepped towards her, an angry look on his face. “You were just at his harbor with him.”

“I don’t want to be arrested anymore than you!” he snarled, matching his step and glaring up at him. 

His good eye narrowed. “What are you hiding?”

Her nostrils flared and she almost lashed out at him before she caught herself and took a breath. Hands balled into fists at her sides, she stopped herself from yelling or screaming or burning him and turned on her heel, stomping towards the stairs to head back to her room. He was an idiot. She didn’t have time for this. She should just kill him then and there, but she couldn’t stand how it would make Iroh feel or how the old man would view her after that. It wasn’t worth it.

But was her freedom worth it?

She shook her head. There were too many conflicting thoughts floating around in her mind for her to bother focusing on any single one of them. All she wanted was to be alone, get ahold of herself, cool down before she tried to fight Zuko in full view of the entire crew and his uncle. Then she could decide what she was going to do now that they were sailing into Fire Nation waters. 

As she wrenched the door open, she heard steps behind her and turned just in time to see an infuriated prince walking her way. His entire body was stiff, shoulders hunched as he followed her. 

“Don’t walk away from me!” he yelled.

“Shut up!” she stepped into the room and was about to slam the door in his face when he caught it with surprising strength. 

“You owe me an explanation,” he growled, glaring down at her. 

“I don’t owe you anything,” she hissed, trying to close the door. 

He kept it open, going so far as to push it further and take a step inside. “You’re on my ship. Interfering with my hunt. Training with my uncle. You owe me an explanation as to why the hell you’re here.”

“Ugh!” she tried to slam the door one last time before giving up and letting go. “Azula was right. You’re just a spoiled, irritating little prince!”

His face darkened and she was almost a little scared when he slammed the door shut, effectively trapping her with him. “What did my sister tell you about me?”

She exhaled sharply, trying to keep her temper under control before it blazed into an inferno and burned them both up. “Nothing, Zuko.”

“When did you talk to my sister?” he snarled, backing her up towards the wall. 

“When I was summoned to the palace!” she snapped. 

He just stared down at her. “And what did you do at the palace?”

“Like I would tell you!” she hissed. 

“You’re infuriating.” his eyes were bright with anger, even when they were narrowed at her. 

“You’re worse,” she growled up at him. 

He grabbed her chin and she had half a mind to burn his fingers off. “Tell me. Why. You’re here.”

“No.”

His grip tightened and she just raised her lip at him, showing her teeth in a nasty sneer. Her nostrils were flared as she breathed angrily, her breath hot on his hand. He felt her clench her jaw under his fingers and he realized how lost he was getting while he studied her face, her angry, beautiful face, with those eyes that wanted to incinerate everything and those teeth that wanted to rip the world apart. 

“I should kill you,” he whispered, his face close to hers. 

“For what?” she breathed, her eyes holding his. She was busy staring at his face, her gaze raking over his scar over and over. The burnt flesh was thick and angry looking, the darker red around his eye more gnarled than the lighter pink that surrounded it. Part of her wanted to reach up and touch it, but she held still, her eyes shifting back to meet his while he continued watching her. 

He just shook his head, still staring at her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she wondered if he could hear it. She hadn’t been this close to someone that wasn’t trying to kill her in...what, her entire life? She couldn’t remember ever feeling a gentle touch, or any kind of hug, and while Zuko could very easily decide to throw her in the brig or attack her, she was happy for the strange intimacy. 

“Fuck you, Yzako.” his voice was low and heavy, and it made her heart skip a beat. What the hell was this? Why was she feeling this way while he pressed himself up against her?

Was she actually into this?

His fingers moved to cup her cheek and she leaned into it, her gaze never leaving his. There was something beautiful in his amber eyes, and whatever it was seemed like it was even more beautiful on his scarred side. When he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, she noticed how hard he was breathing and she found her hands making their way up to his chest, her fingers planted against his armor.

“Zuko,” she whispered.

His eyes opened and met hers, asking for something, for permission. To her surprise, Yzako closed the remaining distance between them and she felt her lips on his. His were rough, chapped from the sea air, and he tasted like charcoal and...something sweet that she couldn’t place. She wanted more, greedily pushing against him, and he kept pace with her. His arm went around her waist, holding her up against him with harsh fingers that gripped her side almost painfully. 

She loved it. 

Everything was a blur--his hands on her, slipping up under her top, grabbing her hips, sliding down to squeeze her ass. When he had a handful of it, she heard him moan in appreciation and the sound went straight to her groin, setting her stomach ablaze in a tingling fire. She arched up against him, their chests hitting as she gave him a push back towards the bed.

In all her nineteen years of life, she had never been taught much, if anything, about how any of this worked, and she had no idea if Zuko had ever found any companionship during his years at sea. As the prince took her to bed, though, she realized just how desperate for this they both were. Her body was on fire as he rubbed himself against her, his lips on her ear, his hands over her own as his chest brushed over her back. As they shed their clothing piece by piece, she forgot why she had been upset with him; as the ship continued sailing on through the night, she couldn’t find a single reason to hate Zuko. 

His hands were hot as they ran up her sides to squeeze her breasts, and she found herself gasping and moaning in ways she never had before. The prince’s hands were soft, still royal despite his years in exile, and Yzako’s chest arched up into his touch. 

“Fuck…” he breathed, leaning down to kiss her. “You have such nice tits…”

Zuko’s eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. For a moment, they both stared at each other, but when Yzako realized how much she loved those words when he was the one saying them, she seized his lips in hers. 

Zuko’s hips rocked against her core. He was hard, and when she finally dared to look down between their bodies, what she saw made a shiver run down her spine. The prince had been blessed, it seemed. 

“Oh,” she gasped as he rolled against her again, and she felt again just how well endowed he was. He rubbed along her lower lips, her hips jerking at the sensation. 

Zuko leaned back on his knees, looking down at the girl beneath him. Fuck, she was so gorgeous. Her dark hair was loose, spilling out behind her head. Part of him wished she were wearing her golden crown. As his hands slid down to hold her hips, he appreciated her chest again, pressing a kiss to her thigh as he admired her. 

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. Even from all the way above her, he could see the fire dancing in her eyes. They were so bright, so alive, and he had to catch himself before he stared at them forever. 

“So are you,” she bit her lip, wondering if that was the right thing to say. It was true, though; his skin was smooth, save for his scar, his muscles toned underneath it. He was handsome, with such a strong jaw, and wide shoulders, and she wondered for a moment if he was meant to have an arranged marriage back home at the palace. If he hadn’t been banished, would she have ever had a chance to be doing this with him?

She was sure she should be considering it a privilege to be in bed with royalty as he brought her legs up and kissed the side of her knee. Zuko was surprisingly gentle, slow in his movements, not at all what she expected of the angry, short tempered prince. He was cherishing every moment, every brush of skin on skin, as if it could end at any second. She would never have guessed that this had started with a fight. 

“Zuko,” she reached out for him and he looked back up at her face, sliding down over her to meet her lips. 

Next thing she knew, she was gasping and biting his shoulder as his fingers played with her, pushing in and pulling out over and over in ways that made her head swim. Her moans were filthy, and she tried to quiet them by burying her face in his neck. It was no use, though; Zuko was smirking, relishing every little sound she made, his free hand gripping her tit and leaving light red burn marks behind every time he squeezed. 

“Z-Zuko!” she gasped as electricity spread through her body. 

Without another word, he pulled his hand back and replaced it with his cock, not giving her a chance to catch her breath. Her eyes widened, her mouth open in a wordless cry as he entered her. He slid in slowly, watching her face, and before long, her body had relaxed. She moved her hips with his, their chests pressed up against each other. 

As he moved faster, that forgotten aggression showed itself in both of them. They had energy to burn, and the candles around the room blazed brightly as they rolled across the bed. Her nails dug into his back while his teeth sank into her chest, both covering each other in angry little marks. The smell of burning sheets and hot, heavy sex filled the air, and when they were finally both tired out, Yzako found herself falling asleep curling up next to Prince Zuko. 

His arm was around her waist, rubbing little circles against her belly as he dozed behind her. She was dumbfounded by what had just happened. She wasn’t mad about it, just...confused? Was that even the right word? She didn’t know. She didn’t know if she should be upset about fucking the prince...her target.


	10. Avatar Roku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Yzako follow the avatar to Roku's Island, and Zuko learns why Yzako is called The Golden Dragon.

When Yzako woke the next morning, Zuko was gone. She had to fight off the pang of disappointment she felt. She really had hoped she would get to wake up and see his face again. As she got up and got dressed, she glanced at herself in the mirror and then froze. She had a big, dark mark on her collarbone...just above the neckline of her top. 

“Shit,” she groaned. She had no way to cover that up, and there wasn’t much point in dressing in her nice robes while they chased the avatar down. 

When she stepped out onto the deck, she felt extra aware of the men around her. She had no idea if they were paying attention. Were they looking? No, definitely not. They were all busy with their jobs. Right?

Wrong. 

She could feel their gazes on her, and she had to square her jaw as she made her way across the deck to Prince Zuko. No need for outbursts today. She was determined to stay focused. 

When she walked up to the prince, though, her focus flew out the window. She couldn’t stop thinking about how he had looked above her just the night before, and if it weren’t for the marks littering her chest, she would have thought it was a dream. He was handsome now, wearing his armor, but last night he had been...almost someone else entirely. 

He turned to look at her, and as she stood before him, his stern expression faltered for a moment. A small smile tugged at his lips, his face almost looking kind for once. As he took her in, he just wished he was back in bed with her, breathing in her scent while her hair tickled his nose. Leaving in the morning had irritated him, but he needed to get back to his own quarters before anyone found him getting his dick wet with the only girl aboard the ship. 

“Yzako,” he greeted, turning back to look out over the water.

“Prince Zuko,” she bowed her head as she did the same. “I hope your morning has been pleasant.”

There was a bitter tinge to her voice that made him want to snort with laughter. “I actually had the most pleasant dreams, thank you for asking.”

Her face fell for a moment in surprise and it took all of Zuko’s willpower to keep a straight face. His chest felt light, and it had ever since he had woken up. He was in a good mood, for once, and it was all thanks to this mysterious dragon girl. She made him...happy, even when she was being annoying and screaming at him. Now, though, as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, she was giving him butterflies. 

“I-I’m sure they were lovely dreams,” Yzako stammered, trying to keep her composure. She was absolutely not used to whatever this was. 

“And I’m sure that mark on your neck is going to keep the crew away.”

She choked on her own spit. “Was that on purpose?”

Zuko smirked, still not turning to face her. “What if it was?”

“They’ve all been staring at it.” she glanced around. “Now they’re definitely going to think I’m the prince’s bedwarmer…”

Are you not? He wanted to ask. But no, that sounded worse than he meant for it to; Yzako had been a great fuck, but he didn’t want her to think that’s all she was around for. She made him nervous, in a good way. He wanted to feel her fire again, over and over if he could. “Well, you did just sleep with the prince…”

“You’re insufferable.” she groaned. Spoiled little prince.

“I seem to recall that you liked it.” he said bravely. 

Something about the way he just kept staring forward was a little hot to her. “So what if I did?”

“So maybe you’d like to do it again sometime.” his voice was calm, but his body wanted to collapse. He could feel his palms getting sweaty. His throat was suddenly dry, and as he swallowed, he internally cursed at himself. She had definitely seen that. 

Yzako noticed the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists and grinned. Was he nervous? “Oh? Would the prince like to make that a formal invitation?”

His eyes narrowed. Now she was just toying with him. “Just say yes.”

She laughed and his expression immediately softened. “I would like to again, yes.”

“Oh...well, uh...good.” Zuko’s tense shoulders loosened up and he happily exhaled some steam. 

Across the deck, Iroh was sitting under an umbrella, fanning himself. He watched Yzako and his nephew as they stood together, and while he couldn’t hear what they were saying, he caught their smiles and saw Zuko relax a bit. He had begun suspecting that the prince was warming up to the dragon girl. 

“Yzako!” he called. He didn’t want to pull the two away from each other, but there were pressing matters to discuss with the Golden Dragon. 

“Iroh,” she greeted as she walked up to him. She was grateful for the umbrella as she sat down, shaded from the harsh Fire Nation sun. 

“I apologize for interrupting,” he said with a little glint in his eye. 

“You weren’t interrupting anything.” she said flatly, struggling to make eye contact with him. 

He let out a mischievous laugh and just kept fanning himself. “I wanted to speak with you about what we both saw in the sky, Yzako.”

She frowned. “You mean the other day?”

He nodded. “The dragon spirit that flew over us...I believe it was Avatar Roku’s.”

Yzako furrowed her brow. “The last avatar?”

“He was born in the Fire Nation and was known to keep a dragon with him, as did my grandfather,” Iroh said. “I suspect that we saw its spirit guiding the avatar.”

“Guiding him to what?”

“Now that, I do not know.” he looked out over the water thoughtfully. “But, we are following the avatar now, and it seems to me that we are on a course for Roku’s Island.”

Yzako paled. “You mean…”

“The Fire Sage temple, yes,” Iroh looked back at her. “It is the winter solstice. The spirit world grows closer to ours, and the avatar is the bridge between the two. I believe he is searching for some way to communicate with Roku.”

Yzako swallowed hard, anxiety rolling over her in sickening waves. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so uncomfortable at the mention of the sages, but she didn’t like the thought of setting foot in that temple again. 

“We will be reaching the island by this afternoon,” Iroh continued. He closed his eyes. “I only wish we had time to speak with Kul before setting foot there.”

“He won’t want to go,” Yzako said quietly. “When I lived with the sages, Kul was never awake.”

Iroh frowned. “Then we must do what we can without the Golden Dragon.”

“What about Zhao?” Yzako felt her stomach churn as she remembered the commander who was tailing them. “He’s still following our smoke.”

“Yes. He is.” the retired general’s eyes narrowed as his gaze shifted to his nephew across the deck. “I can only hope that Prince Zuko remembers what is at stake.”

Yzako twisted, following the old man’s eyes. Zuko was yelling at the helmsman, as usual, seemingly oblivious to everything else around him. He was back to being tense, his hands in fists at his sides. She could imagine how he had looked just the night before, so relaxed, his touches soft. Maybe he had just needed a break from the stress he constantly carried in his shoulders. 

“We have a few hours yet. Perhaps we should take this opportunity to reflect on the solstice and the spirits.” Iroh took a deep breath and closed his eyes, getting ready to meditate.

Yzako sighed. “What about them?”

“Meditate on your connection to the great dragon.” He said, eyes still closed. “Feel his energy within you.” 

When Yzako’s expression remained the same uncomfortable grimace, Iroh cracked an eye open to look at her. “It will help you when we reach the temple.”

She gave a little shrug, supposing he was right. The last thing she wanted to do was set foot on the island again, but it wouldn’t feel right to just sit on the ship and wait for Zuko. Besides, she might actually have a chance at capturing the avatar. Maybe if they both brought the airbender back, Ozai would be pleased enough to see that his son didn’t deserve to be assassinated. Zuko could return to his title, and Yzako could have her freedom.

What would she do with it, though? Stick around the palace to be with Zuko anyways? She wasn’t royalty. She wasn’t even nobility. If it weren’t for Kul, she would just be a commoner, living on some tiny, forgotten island and marrying a fishmonger. Even now, while being recognized as something special, she had nothing to her name—no money, very few possessions, no land or family to stay with. She had no idea if her father was still alive, or if the elders would allow her to return to the island. Even if she got the freedom she was craving, she had no clue what she would do with it. 

If she and Zuko brought the avatar to the Fire Lord, there could be a shot at a better life. There could also be the risk that they would both be put down. At best, Ozai would give her the option to stay on his war committee and enjoy life as his little dragon…at worst, he would kill her. 

She tried to meditate on the spirits, but even Kul didn’t seem too keen on the idea of sitting still. When she cracked her eyes open to look at Zuko across the deck, she heard one of those throaty dragon chuckles that Kul liked to make and immediately shut her eyes again. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the Golden Dragon was probably completely aware that she had fucked the prince the night before. Did Kul care? Should she be embarrassed? ...Did dragons even have sex?

The amused hum she felt from Kul’s spirit made her scowl. She didn’t need him making fun of her right now. The last thing she wanted to deal with was sass from a dead dragon. 

-

By evening, the crescent-shaped island had come into view, and after a few words from Zuko, Yzako was ready to accompany him to her old home. They were taking the small cutter out to the temple, and as Yzako stood waiting for it to be lowered into the water, she found herself choking on the cruiser’s smoke. 

“Uncle, keep heading north!” Zuko yelled up over the sound of the chains. “Zhao will follow the smoke trail while we use it as cover. Keep him off our tail.”

Iroh just watched with a displeased expression, stroking his beard thoughtfully as they disappeared into the cloud of smoke that followed the cruiser wherever it sailed. 

Yzako swallowed nervously. She wasn’t sure if facing the sages again or being captured by Zhao would be worse, and she had half a mind to just jump into the ocean to avoid it all. 

“So what’s your plan?” she asked, trying to keep her mind busy. 

“We stay hidden so that we can reach the temple while Zhao goes after the ship.”

“Then what?”

Zuko turned to her, his face stern. She was already wishing he would go back to looking happy like he had in bed with her. “We corner the avatar and capture him.”

“And then?”

“We take him back to my father.” the prince was starting to look annoyed. “Is that cut and dry enough for you?”

“Don’t get angry with me,” Yzako snapped, stepping away from him. 

“What’s bothering you so much?” he asked angrily anyways. 

“Nothing.” she turned away just in time to miss him rolling his eyes. 

“Didn’t you live here?” he followed after her as she walked to the rail. The smoke was beginning to thin out, and she could see the shape of the tall temple through it. “I’m bringing you along because you know this temple.”

“Lived isn’t exactly the word I would use for this place.” 

Zuko was silent for a long moment, and it seemed like Yzako had managed to shut him up before he threw a tantrum at her. 

“You’re right, though. I do know the temple.” she clasped her hands behind her back, playing with her fingers in an effort to channel some of her anxiety. “Maybe I can even show you the cell I got to sleep in when I was good.”

Zuko’s face fell, and they were silent for the rest of the trip. When the cutter docked, Yzako was happy to see that things were quiet, and none of the sages seemed to be lurking around near the palace doors. As she led the prince inside, the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, and no matter how stealthy they were, she was uneasy. 

“Where is he?” Zuko asked under his breath. 

“There’s a sealed room with a statue of Roku.” Yzako answered, keeping to the shadows as they ran through the halls and up the never ending stairs. “It can only be opened with fire. My guess is he’s there trying to talk to the last avatar.”

“There’s a lot of dragons in here,” Zuko commented, noting the huge statues and carvings that filled the temple. 

“Well, there was a reason they kept me here.” Yzako said. 

“Where are you actually from?”

“A little village no one cares about now.” As they heard a commotion up ahead, they both fell quiet and slowed. “We’re getting close. It’s just up ahead.”

Zuko just nodded, following her as they came to a large hall filled with pillars. At the end of it, the Fire Sages were firebending into a large set of doors, and while Yzako was stuck staring at them, the prince was rushing past her. She almost hissed for him to stop, but then she saw what had gotten his attention: the avatar, hiding behind a pillar, no doubt waiting for the doors to be opened for him. 

Yzako pressed herself up against the wall, trying to stay hidden as Zuko seized the avatar with a hand over the airbender’s mouth. The mechanism keeping the massive golden doors closed began opening loudly, and the avatar’s water tribe friends grabbed the sages. Yzako was surprised to see one of them joining in the coup, and when she crept behind another pillar that was adorned with a large carved dragon to get a closer look, she saw that it was Shyu. 

“Now, Aang!” the sage yelled. Behind him, the doors opened to reveal a shining golden statue of Roku, the firebending avatar that had died a hundred years before, and as Yzako stared at it, she thought of the dragon she and Iroh had glimpsed. Was it really his? Were the sages really so corrupt now that they would imprison and beat her down, when the very man who had built this temple had a dragon guide?

She felt anger bubbling up in her stomach. 

“Aang, now’s your chance!” the water tribe girl yelled when the avatar didn’t come jumping out of his hiding place. 

This time, though, he did come into view, struggling against Zuko’s grip as the prince held his arms. 

“The avatar is coming with me,” the prince growled. 

The girl’s eyes widened, and the sage she was holding down took the opportunity to twist out of her hands. The others followed suit, and Yzako was almost impressed with them for a second. 

“‘Close the doors!” Zuko shouted as he led the avatar away. 

Two of the sages began chaining the avatar’s friends to a pillar while another saw to the doors, trying to shove them back together. Out of the corner of her eye, Yzako saw movement, and the avatar was suddenly free of Zuko’s grip and sprinting towards Roku’s chamber. He slipped through just in time, the doors closing with a loud clang that echoed through the room. 

A bright blue light suddenly shone from inside, and as Zuko yelled for the doors to be opened again, Yzako held back. She stayed behind her pillar, just watching as she took in the fact that the very chains she had worn for so many years were now holding someone else captive. 

“Why isn’t it working?” Zuko asked angrily as the doors refused to budge. “It’s sealed shut!”

“It must have been the light,” a Fire Sage answered. “Avatar Roku doesn’t want us inside.”

Zuko snarled with rage. “Yzako! Where are you hiding? Why didn’t you help me?”

“Yzako?” Shyu asked in disbelief.

She finally stepped out from behind the pillar, hands folded behind her back as she strode forward. “Seemed like you had things under control for a minute there.”

She ignored his roar of anger and walked over to the pillar the water tribe kids were chained to. Running her fingers over the links as she made her way around it, she finally stopped and looked up at the sages. “Tell me, are these the same chains you kept me in?”

They all stared, Zuko included. The avatar’s friends were silent, but she could feel their confused eyes on her as well. She turned to look at them, making eye contact with the girl. “Heavy, aren’t they? Uncomfortable. Painful, you could even say.”

“Uh...y-yeah, they are,” she answered, blue eyes wide. 

Yzako looked back at the sages. “Glad to see they’re not going to waste in some storage room, at least. Wouldn’t that be a shame.”

“Yzako!” the Great Sage spoke up sternly, as if he were going to punish a child for acting out of line. It was a tone she was used to hearing, one that was usually accompanied by a threat or a strike on her bare skin.

“Don’t say my name.” she snarled, stepping towards him. She heard Kul’s growl in her ears and was surprised to feel the warmth of his fire in her chest. “You don’t have the privilege.”

Her voice was deep, ethereal, and even Zuko was growing scared of her. The energy she was suddenly carrying herself with was reminding him of the way she had been during his agni kai with Zhao, and as Yzako walked towards him, he could see that same wild blaze in her eyes. 

He was practically transfixed. 

He couldn’t let anyone else see that, though. 

“Why did you help the avatar?” he asked as Shyu was pushed forward to kneel before the prince. 

“Because it was once the sages’ duty,” he answered, hands bound behind his back. “It is still our duty.”

The sound of hands clapping suddenly echoed through the hall, and Yzako turned to see what was possibly her second worst fear--and most annoying adversary--approaching her. 

“What a moving and heartfelt performance,” Zhao said. He was flanked by soldiers on both sides, enough of them that Yzako wasn’t looking forward to the fight that was undoubtedly about to break out. 

Kul was excited for it, though. 

“I’m certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you’ve betrayed him.” the commander smirked, speaking to no one in particular and relishing the fact that he had a room full of traitors before him. 

“Commander Zhao,” the Great Sage bowed. 

“And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort, but your little smoke screen didn’t work.” Zhao walked up to them and folded his arms over his chest smugly. “So many traitors in one day. The Fire Lord will be pleased.”

“You’re too late, Zhao!” Zuko snarled as two soldiers seized his arms. “The avatar is inside and the doors are sealed. 

“No matter.” Zhao said. “Sooner or later, he has to come out.”

Yzako easily stepped away from the soldiers reaching for her. “Give it a rest, commander. The avatar could stay in there for days.”

Zhao raised his lip in a sneer. “How lovely it is to see you here as well, Great Golden Dragon. No crown today? You look rather plain without all of your fine silks and pomp.”

She rolled her eyes, stepping away from another soldier as he lunged for her. “I’m surprised you noticed. I never took you for a man who understood anything about fashion, what with your silly little sash and all.”

His face grew red with anger and she heard the water tribe boy let out a loud laugh before the girl hushed him. Yzako just smirked. She had expected Kul to leave her on her own in the temple, like he had for years while they tried to break her, but the fact that the dragon’s fire was burning hotter and hotter inside her was giving her confidence she had never had while with the sages. 

“I see your short time as a traitor has only worsened your attitude,” Zhao snapped. 

“I don’t recall ever saying I’ve done something traitorous,” Yzako said as she once again danced away from Zhao’s troops. They were making it too easy, just as clumsy as the soldiers she had killed when Ozai summoned her to the palace. If anything, their slow attacks were just helping her find her head again and quelling her anxiety about being in the temple. 

“You clearly aren’t obeying the Fire Lord’s commands,” Zhao sneered. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, what was that?” Yzako laughed loudly. “I thought someone who isn’t privy to my dealings with the Fire Lord was talking.”

Zuko’s face fell in disbelief. 

The sages’ eyes all widened. 

Zhao looked like he was going to explode. 

“SHUT UP!” he roared, aiming a fireball at her head. “Chain the traitorous sage up with the others. The second those doors open, unleash all your firepower!”

Yzako easily dodged his shot and just scoffed. “What, did I upset you? Gonna ignore me now?”

“I said, that is enough!” Zhao snarled at her, sending another arc of fire towards her. 

She easily dispelled it, feigning a yawn. “The Fire Lord won’t be happy to hear about a Fire Navy commander trying to kill his favorite dragon.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. What was she trying to do? Antagonize Zhao until he killed her? 

“You’re nothing!” the commander yelled, aiming punch after punch at her. She blocked or dodged every single one with such ease that Zuko almost couldn’t believe she was still training and sparring with anyone. When she was actually in a fight with another firebender, she looked like a master. 

“You could come say that to my face,” she taunted. “...If you weren’t such a coward.”

“ENOUGH!” Zhao took several steps towards her, and as she drew him away from the door, Zuko couldn’t help the grin that was spreading across his face. She was trying to distract Zhao for as long as she needed to, keeping him at least several steps away from the doors the avatar would be leaving through when he finally walked out again. 

“Put the banished prince in chains too!” Zhao yelled over his shoulder as Yzako laughed at him. 

“They only have so much chain here, Zhao. They’re going to run out soon.” she said, trying not to watch as the soldiers holding Zuko dragged him to an empty pillar. 

“What are you playing at?” the commander growled as he advanced on her. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” she made eye contact with him and saw nothing but anger. 

“I will hand you over to the Fire Lord,” he aimed a kick at her head and she caught his leg. 

Zuko smirked. It was something she had done to him several times when they sparred, and he knew firsthand just how hard it could be to get out of her grip when she was determined to keep hold. 

“Sir!” one of the soldiers yelled as a loud noise began reverberating through the room. 

All eyes turned towards the doors as they began opening and that blinding blue light poured out. 

“Ready!” Zhao called as he struggled to balance on his free leg.

Yzako snarled and gave him a yank towards her, trying to get him close enough that she could take him down without having to worry about keeping a grip on him. 

“No! Aang!” the water tribe girl yelled as the avatar’s silhouette came into view.

“Fire!” Zhao yelled, aiming a shot at Yzako’s head. She ducked quickly, twisting his leg and shoving him away from her. 

She looked past the commander to see a wall of flames erupting towards the avatar. They weren’t burning anyone, though, and as they were quickly pushed back, her eyes widened and she stepped forward. 

“Avatar Roku,” she heard Shyu gasp at her side. 

The man that stepped out through the doors was tall, with a white beard and a Fire Nation topknot on his head. He was bending all of the fire the soldiers shot at him, and when he finally sent it back out in the room, it was powerful enough to melt the chains that held Zuko and the avatar’s friends. 

The sages ran, Zuko moving to follow them before he noticed that Yzako was still standing there, staring at Roku.

“Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple!” Shyu yelled as the wind picked up and the floor began shuddering. “We have to get out of here!”

“Not without Aang!” the Water Tribe girl shouted. 

As Zhao and the soldiers fled, Yzako fell to her knees. The air around her was hot, and as Zuko ran to grab her arm, he found that her skin was even hotter. 

“Yzako!” he gave her a yank and she stumbled to her feet. “We have to go!”

“No,” she growled in that same large, unearthly voice. When she turned to look at him, her eyes were glowing gold, and as Zuko stepped away in shock, he was suddenly thrown back by a blast of wind from Roku. 

“Yzako, I’m not leaving without you!” he yelled. 

He pulled her towards him as the floor suddenly split open and magma from the volcano below oozed up. Yzako slipped away from him, her hair whipping around her face as an ethereal roar filled the room.

Zuko found himself backing up against a crumbling pillar as the temple shook, the volcano beginning to erupt. Yzako’s hands were engulfed in flame, and as Zuko shielded his face from debris, he watched as she faced Avatar Roku. What the hell was she doing?! He knew she hated this place, but Roku was already destroying it! They needed to get out before the entire place collapsed under their feet!

Yzako felt like she was looking through two sets of eyes, Kul’s roar echoing around her as she stared at Roku. The avatar was now looking back at her, his hands folded as the temple shook around them. She couldn’t tell if he was a spirit or a physical being, but she also felt like she was only half in control of her own body; everything was disorienting, her head swimming as she tried to make sense of the chaos around her. 

Without warning, a shudder ran through Yzako’s body and she suddenly felt even more warmth in the air as the telltale pale blue glow of her dragon suddenly appeared around her, and Kul fully materialized. 

The Golden Dragon stood behind her, his chest brushing her back as his wings spread open and he roared again. White fire poured from his jaws, melting through the roof above as his tail whipped around and destroyed support pillars on either side of him.   
Yzako stood still, chest heaving as Kul’s spirit used his tether to the physical world to wreak havoc on the temple that had kept her in chains for nine years. There was nothing his flames couldn’t reach, not a single thing that was safe from his wrath, and when Yzako finally began moving in tandem with him, she found herself bending the flames from his mouth. 

Zuko just stared in shock and awe at the sight before him. Yzako was moving gracefully alongside the dragon, using an impeccable form that made even Azula look clumsy. Her steps were sure, her movements powerful and smooth as she kept bending the dragon’s fire around the room. Her skin was glowing golden, and as Zuko clung to a broken pillar to avoid being thrown through the crumbling wall, he was both terrified and comforted by the thought that she was on his side for now. 

For now.

As Avatar Roku began fading and Aang’s friends rushed to his side, Kul and Yzako turned towards Prince Zuko. The damage had been done, and the temple was beginning to fall into the volcano it had been built in. 

“How are we supposed to get out of here?” Zuko yelled, all too aware of the magma seeping up the stairs. 

“Just take my hand,” Yzako said, reaching out to him. 

He just looked at her for a moment, shielding his face with his arm again as more debris came flying towards him. When he finally did as told, he found himself being pulled up onto the dragon’s back, Yzako in front of him. With a flap of his ethereal wings, they were in the air, the temple collapsing just as they made it out. 

They flew down to the cutter Zuko had sailed in on, Yzako sliding down and immediately falling onto her side. 

“Yzako!” the prince yelled, kneeling next to her. Beside them, the dragon also fell, letting out an exhausted roar before fading from sight. Yzako’s golden glow began subsiding until she was back to normal, but she didn’t wake, even as they began sailing back to meet Iroh with the cruiser. 

Instead, she was dreaming about golden dragons in bright green fields.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank you to everyone who has commented already! I'm so glad you're enjoying my fic. Things are going to be getting more intense, and I have some GOOD stuff planned!


	11. The Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events at Avatar Roku's temple, Zuko, Iroh, and Yzako find themselves visiting a market so that Iroh can buy a new lotus tile.

When Yzako woke, she was in her room on the ship, and it felt like any other day...until she tried to move, and she gasped in pain. Her ribs hurt, her back hurt, her arms hurt--everything just hurt. As she struggled to sit up, she grimaced, and then the night’s activities finally surfaced in her mind. 

The temple was gone. Kul had helped Roku destroy it, and by the looks of things, she had gotten back to the ship safe and sound with Zuko. Wait, Zuko…where was he? Was he okay? She just remembered flashes of what had happened, and she could see an image of Kul’s horns in front of her as he flew down to the cutter, but had Zuko made it back? 

Forcing herself to slide out of bed, she grunted in pain. She found that she was just wearing pants and her normal chest wrap, but she didn’t have time to try to get dressed. The only thing she could think about was getting up to the deck and making sure Zuko was alive. 

She pulled the door open, making a frustrated sound as she struggled with it. Her body was protesting every movement she made, but she wasn’t listening to it as she limped down the hall. The stairs were harder than she ever imagined they could be, and she had to half drag herself up them before she felt the hot sun on her bare shoulders and saw the crew at their stations. 

Her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath while she looked around wildly, searching for the prince. She was sure she looked like an absolute mess, hobbling around undressed, but when she finally spotted him sparring with a crewman, she let out a sigh of relief. Zuko was up on his feet, looking better than ever, and she could relax. 

As she was about to sit down on the deck, she suddenly found herself tilting as the ship made a sharp turn, and she was thrown onto her side with a surprised yelp. 

“Yzako!” she heard Zuko yell. 

“H-hey,” she panted as he rushed over. His strong hands grabbed her under the arms and pulled her up, ignoring her noises of protest. He held her with an arm around her waist, dragging her with him as he made his way up to the bridge. 

“Zuko!” she squawked, trying to free herself. 

“Calm down,” he growled, pulling her along up the stairs. “I’m not leaving you out on the deck half dressed like this.”

Her face burned angrily. “I came out to make sure you were okay. Now I can clearly see that that was a mistake and I should have stayed in bed.”

He rolled his eyes, too focused on the matter at hand to be bothered with her banter. When he threw the door open, he finally let go of Yzako, letting her lean against the wall to catch her breath. 

“What’s the meaning of this mutiny?” he snarled at the helmsman. “No one told you to change course!”

“Actually, someone did,” Iroh said from his place at the pai sho table, where a few men were clustered. “I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko.”

“Is it something to do with the avatar?” Zuko asked hopefully.

“Even more urgent. It seems I--well, I’ve lost my lotus tile.” 

Yzako limped over to the old man, collapsing in a heap next to him as he pushed a pai sho piece across the board. She had seen him play enough to know that the lotus was his favorite tile, and while she didn’t entirely understand why, she knew that he was obsessed with it. 

“Lotus tile?” Zuko asked skeptically. 

“For my pai sho game,” Iroh answered, hands in his sleeves. “Most people think the lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ.”

“You’ve changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?” the prince asked in disbelief. 

“See, you, like most people, underestimate its value.” Iroh leaned across the board to look at his nephew. “Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call. Hopefully, they’ll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life.”

Yzako watched as Zuko’s breaths deepened angrily, and he threw his head back to breathe a jet of fire out. If she wasn’t in so much pain, she would have thought it was attractive...okay, it was attractive to her regardless. 

“I’m lucky to have such an understanding nephew,” Iroh said with a smile as smoke filled the room. 

Yzako just slumped against him tiredly. “That’s a word for it.”

Iroh chuckled. “You two had quite the adventure. The prince was beside himself when you didn’t wake for two whole days.”

She looked up at him. “Two days?”

“Oh, yes! You were exhausted by your heroic escape from the temple. You both barely made it out with your lives!”

She sighed. Well, at least he wasn’t going around telling the crew that they had flown out of the collapsing building on the back of a dead dragon. As the smoke cleared, she was surprised that Zuko was still standing there in all of his sleeveless glory, absolutely fuming at his uncle. 

“Prince Zuko, why don’t you take Yzako back to her quarters?” Iroh suggested, returning to his game. “I’m sure she could use some breakfast and a change of clothes before we make port.”

Zuko closed his eyes, exhaling angrily before opening them and kneeling to help Yzako up. “Come on.”

She limped along with him down the stairs, clinging to his shirt for balance as her jelly legs threatened to give out under her. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled as they reached the deck. 

“Don’t worry about it.” he gritted his teeth. “I wish he wouldn’t do this.”

“What? Make you help me?”

“What? No!” he looked down at her. “I meant changing our course to go shopping.”

“So you like helping me down the stairs?” she teased.

“I--no! I mean, I don’t not like it--ugh!” he threw his head back in frustration and she just smiled as they headed below deck. 

“I suppose it’s my fault for running around without a shirt on anyway,” she said as they reached her door. 

As Zuko pushed it open and gave her a gentle nudge inside, he grinned. “I wouldn’t mind if you did it more often.”

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Cheeky of you, Prince Zuko.”

He put a warm hand on her bare waist and leaned in, his forehead resting against hers. “Everyone can see your marks this way.”

She gasped angrily and slapped his chest weakly as she pulled back. “You ass! Are they that bad?”

“See for yourself,” he smirked, turning her towards the mirror in the corner. 

She grimaced at her tired reflection. There were bags under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and her shoulders were sagging. Other than that, though, she didn’t seem to have any extra burns or bruises from Kul’s antics, and aside from the red hickeys on her chest, she was unblemished. 

“They’re not that bad,” Zuko chuckled, his hands resting on her hips. “Has anyone given you trouble recently?”

“No one’s had a chance,” she grumbled. “Give it a few days. They’ll try something.”

His expression darkened. “Not if they know what’s good for them.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’ll see who’s right by the end of the week.” 

“Hmph.” he leaned his chin on the top of her head. “Yzako…”

“What?” she almost snapped. 

He winced, and she immediately regretted her tone. She had met Ozai and Azula. She was sure Zuko had been screamed and yelled at plenty of times before. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled, a hand slipping over one of his. 

“It’s okay.” he closed his eyes. “I just wanted to talk to you about the temple.”

“What about it?” 

His eyes cracked open again. “What was that dragon?”

She sighed. She had figured she would eventually have to tell him about Kul, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. “Well, they don’t call me the Golden Dragon for nothing.”

Her attempt at humor fell on unamused ears. 

“His name is Kul.”

“What is he?” 

She shrugged. “A spirit. My village was on his island. The day I was born, Azulon came to hunt him.”

Zuko grimaced. “My grandfather enjoyed slaying dragons.”

“I know.” Yzako said coldly. “Kul won’t let me forget.”

“How did he end up in this realm? Shouldn’t he be in the spirit world?”

“My father always told me that the village was burning, and my mother was dying, and I was born silent.” she stared evenly at her reflection. “When Kul incinerated the birthing hut, Azulon killed him, and then I finally cried. He’s been with me ever since.”

“When were you sent to live with the Fire Sages?”

“When I was ten. My father handed me over to them personally.” she sneered. 

Zuko looked at the floor, his chin still on her head. “My mother left when I was twelve. I remember seeing you at the palace the same week.”

“The sages brought me there to present me to Ozai. That was the last time I saw anything outside their temple for nine years.”

His hands began rubbing those same little circles on her hips, just like when they were falling asleep a few nights before. “Did they really keep you in those chains?”

She nodded. “Not always, but a lot. Sometimes, I was good, and I got to sleep in my bed. The last time I was there, before I was summoned to the palace again, I had been chained up for two days.”

“Why?” he asked angrily. 

“They told me I was dangerous. I couldn’t control myself, and that’s why I had to live in chains.” she closed her eyes, not able to face her reflection. “I think they were afraid.”

“Of what? You?”

“Why else do you collar a beast? To control it.”

Zuko’s free hand trailed up her side to brush his fingers against the golden collar on her neck. “You can’t take this off?”

“No.”

“Have you tried?”

“I used to claw at it until my hands were bloody.” she opened her eyes again to see him there behind her, a hand on her neck, a slightly less serious than usual expression on his face. “I gave up a long time ago.”

Zuko was quiet for a while. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” she leaned back against him slightly. Her stomach suddenly growled comically, and she realized she hadn’t eaten in two days. 

“You need some breakfast,” Zuko laughed lightly, leading her over to her bed and sitting her down. “I’ll call for the cook.”

As he turned for the door, she grabbed his wrist. “Zuko?”

“What?” he turned to look back at her. 

“...Thank you.”

His face softened again, like it only ever did when they were alone. “Don’t worry about it.”

\--

A couple hours later, Yzako was dressed in her usual tunic and pants, and she was following Iroh through the small market town. She had begun to perk up a bit after breakfast, and while she wasn’t exactly full of energy, she was managing to walk on her own.   
Zuko was impatient, and as Iroh’s promised ten minutes turned into an hour, Yzako found herself having to drag the prince away from his uncle to give the old man some peace while he shopped. 

“Come on, Zuko,” she insisted, holding his arm so he couldn’t get away. “I’ve never been shopping. Don’t you want to show me how it works?”

He sighed angrily. “No! I want to get back on the ship!”

“That’s no way to talk to a lovely lady, young man,” the old shopkeep nearby said sharply. 

“What?!” Zuko yelled, fuming like he always did. 

Yzako rolled her eyes at him, hiding a loud laugh. “Come on, darling. Let’s enjoy a nice day.”

Zuko gritted his teeth as she led him away. Yzako raised a hand to cover her mouth, unable to hide her laugh any longer. She pulled him into a jewelry shop, letting go of his arm to admire the necklaces and bracelets. As Zuko watched her with his arms crossed, he had to admit she was pretty cute; she was flitting around to whatever shiny object caught her eye, always drawn to the gold pieces more than any silver. It was fitting, he supposed; now that he knew there was a dragon’s spirit living inside of her, a lot of her mannerisms were beginning to make more sense. 

“Look at this!” she turned to him, her face lit up with a wide smile that made his knees weak. She was holding a gaudy gold necklace up, dozens of rubies glittering in the light. 

“It’s...great,” he said, struggling to respond. 

“Can I have it?”

“Can you--what?” he knew he had just agreed to go shopping with her, but he didn’t realize that actually meant they would be buying things. Where was she even going to wear it? They weren’t exactly going to any parties while they hunted the avatar. 

“With all due respect, little lady, that piece is a bit...exquisite,” the shopkeeper said, reaching over the counter to grab at the necklace. 

“Excuse me?” Yzako asked haughtily, holding it out of his reach. “What does that mean, exactly?”

The man looked to Zuko. “Sir, this is a piece to be bestowed upon a new fiancee or a wife, not a…”

“A what?” Yzako growled, a little steam blowing from her nostrils. 

The man gulped, glancing towards her and then back to Zuko. “Well, a--a courtesan, of course.”

Zuko just raised an eyebrow. “Courtesan?”

“And what if I am?” Yzako asked angrily. “Don’t I deserve something nice once in a while?”

The shopkeep glanced anxiously between the two firebenders, unsure of the situation now. “Well, I--”

Yzako turned back to Zuko again, holding the necklace up once more. “I want it.”

At the stubborn expression on her face, Zuko had no choice but to smile. If there was one thing he still had, it was money, thanks to his uncle’s handsome pension and personal fortune. There were some perks to being a prince, even a banished one. 

“What the lady wants, the lady gets,” he said, pulling out a small coin purse from under his armor. 

He tossed some gold towards the shopkeep, and a few moments later, Yzako was walking out of the store with not only the ruby necklace, but a matching pair of earrings and bracelets. 

“I wish I could have gotten a ring,” she said, frowning at her bare fingers as she held her hand up. 

“A ring would have been better than some stupid earrings you can’t even wear.” Zuko replied. 

“So? I’ll just pierce my ears myself.”

He rolled his eyes and then chuckled. He was sure she could do it if she wanted to. “We need to find my uncle and get out of here.”

“Why? He’s looking for his pai sho tile. Oh, look! Clothes!” 

Zuko sighed as she pulled him into another store. Maybe he shouldn’t have let her know that he was carrying money on him. She was getting determined to spend it all. But...after their talk that morning, he figured she must not have ever had a chance to do most things. If this was her first time shopping, it might as well be worthwhile for her. 

As they made their way through town, Yzako received a fair amount of odd looks and stares. She always returned them with a sneer or a glare, and when they returned to the ship to have a crewman carry her new things onboard, Zuko pulled her aside. 

“They all think I’m buying gifts for my concubine!” he hissed. 

She just looked up at him. “So?”

“So...so you’re not!”

“Why does it bother you?” she took his arm and started walking again. “For all these people know, I am.”

“And you’re just...fine with that?” he asked as he followed her. 

“Why shouldn’t I be?”

“Because...because it isn’t…”

“Zuko, come on. I have nothing against courtesans. You shouldn’t have anything against courtesans. If these random harbor folk think you’re keeping me in your bed, why should I care? Besides…” she gave him a little nudge. “You did say you wanted to fuck again.”

“Quiet down!” he hushed her, looking around to make sure there weren’t any of his crew in sight. 

She just laughed. “Really, though, I think it’s my collar. People see it and assume...well, that I am what I am. Not a concubine, but something that’s owned. A servant girl who walks too close to the prince.”

“Doesn’t that make you angry?”

She paused. “It does. The ownership part, I mean. But...today, I just want to enjoy our shopping. Really, do you think I can find a ring? My fingers are too naked…”

Zuko groaned internally as she led him off again, irritated by the time they were wasting, but happy whenever he saw a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone leaving kudos, bookmarking, and commenting! It seriously makes me so happy that people are enjoying this fic. It's the first one I've posted since the old old days of fanfiction dot com when I was in high school, so I'm just really glad this is being received well! 
> 
> Should I include the episode numbers that each chapter corresponds with? I've been following book I pretty closely and I think it's pretty obvious, but if anyone would like me to add some more info to help with context, let me know in a comment!


	12. Pirates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko enlists the help of a pirate crew to capture the avatar, and Yzako isn't too happy about it.

“Ahh, nephew!” Iroh called, waving his arm. 

“Is he finally finished?” Zuko asked, letting go of Yzako’s arm the second his uncle came into view. 

She wasn’t paying attention, too busy admiring the large ruby ring on her finger. “Who? What?”

Zuko rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist, dragging her across the street to where Iroh was standing. “Well?”

“I’ve checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace!”

“It’s good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!”

“Quite the contrary,” Iroh argued. “I always say, the only thing better than finding something you’re looking for is finding something you weren’t looking for at a great bargain!”

“...You bought a tsungi horn?” Zuko asked.

Yzako finally looked up to see crewmen carrying armfuls of Iroh’s purchases back to the ship, and she suddenly wished she had bullied Zuko into buying her more things. 

“For music night on the ship!” Iroh started off after the men. “Now, if we only had some woodwinds…”

“We do not need--”

“Oh? This place looks promising!” Iroh pointed towards a ship docked at the pier and Yzako stopped in her tracks. It was wooden, with red sails, and a few ragtag men lingering around outside. 

“Doesn’t that look...a bit...shady?” she asked, a twist in her gut telling her not to get closer. 

“Nonsense!” 

Zuko just groaned and followed his uncle. Yzako wasn’t about to be left outside alone, so she slipped her new ring off, tucking it into her shirt. She was the first person to admit that she didn’t know much about most of the world, but something told her that this wasn’t the place to flaunt her new jewelry. 

When they walked aboard, she found herself surrounded by all manner of items, some probably cursed, others probably stolen. The man behind the counter was eyeing her closely, and she responded with her own narrowed gaze. She didn’t like this place at all.

“Oh, this is handsome!” Iroh exclaimed, looking at a stone statue with ruby eyes. “Wouldn’t this look great in the galley?”

Another man walked in, this one wearing green, and Yzako listened as he slid up to the counter. “We lost the Water Tribe girl, and the little bald monk she was traveling with.”

Oh no. Did Zuko hear that? She was secretly hoping he hadn’t. She was still tired, and going after the avatar didn’t sound like the nap she had been hoping to enjoy that evening. 

“This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?” Zuko asked.

Well, so much for that. 

“Aye, he did,” the man behind the counter said. He put his elbow down and leaned on it. “What’s it to you?”

Zuko stepped forward. “It seems we may have a common interest.”

\--

The next thing Yzako knew, she was standing on a ship next to a prince and a pirate, the sky was darkening to night, and she still hadn’t gotten the nap she wanted. Zuko had struck a deal with the pirates, promising to get their precious waterbending scroll back in exchange for finding the avatar and his friends who had stolen it, and then he had dragged Yzako and Iroh along for the ride. 

“Tell me why this scroll is so important to you?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest grumpily. 

“Come now, girl,” the larger man laughed. The iguana parrot on his shoulder squawked at her. “Are you upset you’re out past your bedtime?”

“I’m upset that my time is being wasted,” she growled. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. Oh, now she cared about wasting time? Did all of her shopping earlier not count? She had been grumpy the entire trip up the river, tapping her feet in irritation as they left port and whining to go back to their own ship. On one hand, he couldn’t blame her for being annoyed, but he was too focused on finding the avatar to actually care about her grievances. 

“It’s a waterbending scroll, right?” he asked. 

The man nodded. 

“Then they’ll be on the water. We don’t even need to search the woods.”

Yzako grumbled and turned away, looking out over the water. She was growing grouchier by the minute, and as those minutes continued to pass uneventfully, she started to wonder if it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just lay down for some sleep right then and there. 

“Ugh--stupid water!” the sound of a familiar voice made her perk up. 

Zuko and the pirate captain noticed it too, glancing at each other. When they set foot on dry land again, Yzako went ahead of the men, creeping across the riverbank towards the source of the noises. 

When she peeked through the bushes, she saw the Water Tribe girl standing by the other side of the river, yelling in frustration. She was trying to bend the river water, screaming angrily as she struggled. What was she even doing in the middle of the Earth Kingdom? As far as Yzako knew, there were only two Water Tribes, and they were at the north and south pole. Why this girl was traveling with the avatar was a mystery to her. 

“Stupid scroll!” the girl yelled, letting the water splash back down just as one of the pirates suddenly sprang from the trees to grab her. “Let go of me!”

She screamed, kicking at him and slapping him in the face with some water from the river. As she stumbled away, she ran directly into Zuko as he walked out of the bushes, and Yzako watched as he caught her wrists. 

“I’ll save you from the pirates,” he snarled, his eyes narrowed as he glared at her. 

“Let me go, Zuko!” she spat, struggling as the prince dragged her over to a tree. 

Yzako stepped out to join the rest of the men as they tied the girl’s wrists together, and she stood next to a tired Iroh who repeatedly whispered to her how much he wished he could be playing his new tsungi horn instead of standing in the mud.   
She concurred. 

“Tell me where he is, and I won’t hurt you or your brother,” Zuko said, standing in front of the waterbender. 

“Go jump in the river!” she replied angrily. 

Zuko looked to the side, and Yzako recognized the slow exhale he made as he tried to calm down. When he straightened back up, he had a strained smile on his face, a sad attempt at seeming personable. “Try to understand, I need to capture him to restore something I’ve lost...my honor.” he walked around the tree, and the girl turned her head to avoid looking at him. “Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you’ve lost.”

He held up the necklace he had found when they stopped at the prison, the one he had told Yzako would come in handy one day. The waterbender girl gasped when he held it around her neck from behind, and Yzako glanced at a disgruntled Iroh before she looked back at the scene. 

“My mother’s necklace!” the girl said as Zuko took it back and stepped away. “How did you get that?!”

“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re wondering.” he smirked. “Tell me where he is.”

“No!”

The pirate captain rolled his eyes and stepped forward. “Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised the scroll!”

Zuko backed up to stand with his soldiers, pulling the scroll from his belt and holding his hand under it. “I wonder how much this is worth.”

The pirates gasped as a flame lit in his hand, threatening to burn the parchment. “No!”

“A lot, apparently.” Zuko grinned. “Now, you help me find what I want. You’ll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here.”

The captain glared at him for a moment before turning. “Fine.”

His crew followed him, a few staying behind to watch their ship while some of Zuko’s soldiers headed off in a different direction. Yzako sat on a rock near the tree the waterbender was tied to, her elbows on her knees as she sighed tiredly. Zuko was pacing back and forth down the riverbank, snapping at anyone who got in his way, and as night turned to morning, Yzako was glad to be able to doze slightly while sitting up. 

Iroh sat next to her, holding his hands in his sleeves as he meditated. He cracked an eye open from time to time, watching the pirates who had stayed behind. He was sharing Yzako’s mindset; he would much rather be in his bed on the ship, but he planned on sticking by his nephew’s side as long as he needed to. Zuko was relying on the pirates not knowing who they were actually going after, and Iroh feared that if they realized the boy was the avatar, the deal would quickly go sideways. 

At the sound of a scuffle, Yzako opened her eyes. It was dawn, the sun peeking through the trees as the pirates returned with the avatar and the Water Tribe boy in tow. They stood across from Zuko, holding their prisoners tightly. 

“Aang!” the waterbender girl said. “This is all my fault…”

“No, Katara,” the monk said. “It isn’t!”

Iroh stood and looked at the girl. “Yeah, it kind of is.”

Yzako couldn’t help but snort at his disgruntled expression.

“Give me the boy,” Zuko ordered. 

“You give us the scroll,” the captain growled.

“You’re really gonna hand over the avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?” the Water Tribe boy asked. 

“Don’t listen to him!” Zuko snapped. “He’s trying to turn us against each other!”

“Can you blame him?” Yzako mumbled, finally standing to join Iroh. 

“Your friend is the avatar?” the captain looked at the bald boy at his side. 

“Sure is! And I bet he’ll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll.” the Water Tribe boy said. 

“Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!” Zuko yelled. 

“Yeah Sokka, you really should shut your mouth…” the avatar agreed, looking at his friend nervously. 

“I’m just saying, it’s bad business sense!” Sokka said, grinning at the pirates around him. “Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the avatar! You guys would be set for life.”

Yzako frowned. Should she have been demanding money from Ozai this whole time? No way was she about to let these pirates nab the avatar from right under her nose now that she realized there could be a lot more in store for her if she managed to drag him back to the palace with Zuko. 

“Keep the scroll!” the captain laughed loudly. “We can buy a hundred with the money we’ll get for the kid.”

“You’ll regret breaking a deal with me!” Zuko yelled as the pirates turned towards their ship. With a loud yell, he and the soldiers closest to him unleashed blasts of fire, making the pirates scatter.

Yzako grinned, her fatigue forgotten as she sprang into action. The pirate in green, the one with the long black ponytail, was running towards them, and Yzako weaved as he tossed smoke bombs at her with frightening speed. She skidded under his arms, slipping past him as he shouted and jumped towards Zuko. 

Clouds of smoke filled the air behind her as Yzako ran towards the avatar and the Water Tribe boy, the loud footsteps of Fire Nation soldiers sounding on her heels. The other pirates regrouped, jumping in front of their prisoners and tossing more smoke bombs down just as Yzako reached them, and she coughed as the gas filled her nose. She could barely see, dodging spears and punches from both parties as she tried to weave her way over to the avatar by following the sounds of his coughing and yells of surprise. 

When she finally found him, he was struggling to gain his footing, ducking as weapons flew over his head. Yzako thrust her arm out towards him and managed to snag him by the rope binding his wrists, yanking him along with her as she tried to find a way out of the fray. He resisted, pulling back and digging his heels into the dirt as she tugged him along, and before she had a chance to snarl in his face, a knife whizzed past her. She let him go, jumping in surprise as it grazed her cheek. The avatar scrambled away and she let out an angry shout, punching the nearest face she could find. 

It turned out to be a Fire Nation soldier, and as her fist clanged against her helmet, she found herself stumbling backwards until she was falling on her ass back into the fresh air outside the cloud of smoke. She turned to see Zuko and the captain fighting behind her, the pirate’s sword scraping against the prince’s bracers whenever he blocked a swing. As Yzako scrambled to her feet, she saw another pirate grab the waterbending scroll from Zuko’s belt, tossing it into the air with his whip.

The avatar’s flying lemur grabbed it with its tail, and Yzako could hear the squawking of the iguana parrot as it took flight. She sprinted back towards the cloud of smoke, skirting around it just in time to catch a glimpse of Katara trying to shove the pirate ship into the river. 

“Hey!” Yzako yelled, the mud and sand of the riverbank slowing her feet down as she tried to reach them. 

The avatar and the other kid were ahead of her, sliding to a stop and catching their breath as they looked back at the angry firebender rushing at them. 

“We gotta go!” she heard the avatar shout. He sent a blast of air at her and Yzako flew back a few feet, shaking her head and righting herself. 

The river water rose unnaturally as the girl and the avatar used waterbending, and just as Yzako was finally reaching them, they were scrambling up onto the ship as it started floating away. With a loud grunt of effort, Yzako jumped after it, managing to grab onto the ship’s rail just in time to be carried along with them. 

“Uh, Sokka?” the avatar asked nervously, catching sight of her. “We’ve got a visitor!”

“Well get rid of her!” the Water Tribe boy yelled, standing at the helm. 

“We’ve got bigger problems!” Katara shouted, pointing across the water. 

Yzako looked back to see that the pirates had stolen Zuko’s cutter and were following close behind. She kicked at the edge of the ship, trying to get any sort of footing so that she could pull herself up while the avatar was distracted, but by the time she finally managed it, the men were already jumping aboard around her. 

When a pirate stepped back towards her, Yzako grabbed his leg and used the momentum to scramble aboard. Just as soon as she had set foot on the deck, though, a gush of water sent her sliding back again, and she managed to grab onto some rigging before she was swept away with it. 

She sputtered, coughing water up as she panted for air and threw a ball of fire at a nearby pirate. It hit his shirt, setting it ablaze. After a kick to the chest, he was in the river, and Yzako turned her attention to the men advancing on the avatar near the ship’s wheel. 

“He’s mine!” she snarled, jumping onto one’s back and pulling him down just as Aang’s airbending formed a bubble of wind that sent the other one flying. He made eye contact with Yzako for a moment before leaping down to the main deck, leaving her to deal with the ponytail pirate. 

“Out of my way, girl!” the man yelled, running at her. 

Yzako rolled her eyes. “I’m sick of you.”

He sneered, aiming a knife at her side. She grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm and hooking a foot under his leg. With a pull, he was falling onto his back, and she easily shoved him over the side and into the river. 

When she turned her attention back to the avatar, she saw him pulling out a whistle and blowing into it. It barely made any noise, and before she had a chance to jump down after him, she heard the roar of a waterfall. 

Great.

“We have to stop the boat!” Katara yelled. “Aang, push and pull the water!”

Yzako clung to the rigging at the side of the boat as it began to turn, looking around for a way out. Kul had been silent all day and night, no doubt still exhausted from destroying the temple with Avatar Roku. She didn’t think she could count on another heroic escape on the back of the Golden Dragon anytime soon. 

As Yzako’s eyes returned to the river behind them, she swore under her breath. The cutter was still sailing towards them, making a beeline for the center of their boat. 

“We’re doing it!” the waterbender girl yelled as the ship came to a stop just at the edge of the falls. 

“Look out!” Yzako shouted, still clinging to the ropes. 

The trio turned to stare at her just as the cutter hit them, the pirate ship shuddering as wood splintered. Yzako tightened her grip, her legs swinging wildly as she suddenly found herself up in the air. The boat was being pushed over the side of the waterfall, slower than it would have without the whirlpools they had made, but still too quickly for her to find a way out. 

As the ship began falling, she squeezed her eyes shut, the rigging going slack in her hands. The next thing she knew, she was weightless. A scream might have come out of her mouth, but she honestly wasn’t sure what was going on as the world around her seemed to slow down. Wind rushed past her, hair whipping in her face, and she waited to slam into the water below. 

Then, her shoulder made contact with something, and she blacked out. 

\--

“Yzako!” Zuko yelled, standing at the edge of the waterfall. He had seen the ships go over it, and with no sight of Yzako in the river or the forest, he was panicking. 

Iroh caught up with him, stopping to catch his breath. “Prince Zuko, wait!”

“We have to find her, Uncle!” the prince shouted, moving to take his armor off so that he could jump after her. 

“Hold on!” Iroh grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back from the cliff’s edge and pointing to the sky. “Look!”

Zuko followed his hand, looking up just in time to see the avatar’s bison disappearing into the clouds. He narrowed his eyes. Had they taken her with them? 

“Search the bottom of the falls!” he ordered as the soldiers marched up behind him. “I’m going after them.”

“Nephew, how do you plan on pursuing the avatar? They are flying inland.” Iroh said, stroking his beard. 

“However I have to,” Zuko growled, fists at his sides. The thought of losing Yzako was making him both furious and terrified, his entire body on alert. All he could think about was getting to her, no matter where she was.


	13. The Gaang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako meets the avatar properly. 
> 
> TW// from here on out, there will be occasional graphic dreams/flashbacks that will involve physical, mental, and emotional torture/abuse. Please take care of yourself, and skip these bits if you need or want to! They will always end after a large paragraph break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's in the chapter summary, but I wanted to include it here as well:
> 
> TW FOR ABUSE/TORTURE SCENES. Please take care of yourself, and skip these flashbacks if you need to! They will always end with a large paragraph break.
> 
> Aside from that, this is a little bit of a filler chapter as we work our way along to some BIG WILD STUFF!

“Hold her down!”

“Grab her arms!”

A Fire Sage jumped back as she lashed out, kicking fire at his head. She was screeching, clawing and biting at them as they tried to control her. 

“Let me go!” Yzako screamed, thrashing as her arms were pinned down. She felt a sudden weight as her wrists were bound together, and as the sages righted her, she was forced down onto her knees. 

“Control yourself!” the Great Sage yelled, his voice echoing around the chamber as chains clanked against the floor. 

Yzako just shrieked back at him, her throat raw. The man’s face twisted in anger and she felt the sting of his hand against her cheek, her head snapping to the side. Her mouth filled with blood and she spit some out at his feet, daring to look back up at him.   
He was furious, and her sneer earned her another backhanded slap across the face. She lunged after him quickly, her teeth snapping together just inches from his arm as he backed away. She was suddenly yanked backwards by the neck, the chain attached to the back of her collar pulling her harshly. 

She fell in a coughing fit, trying to breathe as the collar pressed against her windpipe. Tears sprang to her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she gasped for breath on the floor, blurring the faces of the sages that stood over her. 

“You are a menace to yourself and everyone around you!” the Great Sage shouted. “The man you burned will be disfigured for the rest of his life!”

“I didn’t mean to!” she yelled back, chest heaving. 

“That doesn’t matter!” he aimed a blast of fire just next to her head and she flinched away, feeling its heat on her skin. “You are undeserving of the power you wield. It is wasted on a girl the likes of you.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” she protested, trying to sit up. 

“Silence!”

She was pulled back by another sharp tug on her chains, and she fell with a grunt. 

“You will learn to behave.” the Great Sage snarled. “Or you will be put down.”

“You can’t do that!” Yzako yelled, her voice straining.

“I can, and I will! Do not think you are invincible, girl. A trophy beast is still a beast, and a dangerous one must be destroyed.” he shot another fireball, this time at the other side of her head, and she choked back a terrified sob. 

The tears ran down her chin and dripped onto the floor as she was pulled back up to sit on her knees, hot fire breath leaving her throat after the heavy door to the cell had closed behind the last of the sages. It seared her tongue and lips, disappearing into the air again just as quickly as it had appeared. 

\--

“Look out!” a voice shouted. 

Yzako’s eyes flew open just as she felt a familiar heat in her mouth, twisting onto her side and holding herself up with her arms as she tried to figure out where the hell she was. The bald avatar boy came into view in front of her, his eyes wide as he stood in a defensive stance. The two Water Tribe kids were on either side of him, both still sitting down as they stared at her in alarm. 

“Where am I?” she asked angrily, her eyes never leaving the airbender. She realized that her face was cold, practically numb, and she felt a sharp wind tugging at her loose hair. 

“Just calm down,” he said slowly. 

“Don’t tell me to be calm!” she snarled. When she finally glanced to the side, though, she let out a scream. All she could see were fluffy white clouds, and she realized she was on top of the flying bison. 

“It’s okay!” the avatar said quickly, straightening up and waving his hands in front of him to show that he didn’t mean any harm. “Appa caught you when the boat fell! You’re safe!”

“Put me down!” she shrieked, scrambling back to huddle up against the corner of the bison’s huge saddle. 

“We should just push her off!” Sokka yelled, scowling at her. 

“No, Sokka,” Aang said. “She’s scared.”

“So am I! Aren’t you? She’s been trying to capture you alongside Zuko this entire time! And she just suddenly woke up breathing fire at all our faces!”

“Zuko?” Yzako asked, pulling her knees up to her chest as she looked up at the clouds above them. “Where is he?”

“Back down at the river, probably,” Aang answered. He sat down in front of her, his legs crossed. As he did so, he put his staff to the side, and she watched him cautiously. She didn’t trust them not to just toss her off the bison so she could plummet to her death. 

“Take me back to him!” she ordered. 

“Uh uh, no way!” Sokka said. “You’re just going to run right back to Zuko and go back to trying to kill us!”

She looked at him in annoyance. “I could kill you right now if I wanted to!” she snapped. 

“See? She’s from the Fire Nation. She’s a vicious killer!”

“Sokka, calm down,” the avatar told his friend. “We’re not throwing her off of Appa.”

“Aang, we can’t just keep her with us,” Katara said, glancing at Yzako fearfully. “Sokka’s right. She’s been helping Zuko ever since Kyoshi Island. And we all know what happened in the temple.”

“Actually, I’m curious about that,” Aang said, looking at Yzako with bright eyes. “Why’d you help Roku destroy it?”

“I’m not telling you anything.” Yzako growled. 

“Fine, then. We’ll just hand you over to the first Earth Kingdom soldiers we find.” Sokka shrugged. 

Yzako narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Why not? It’s not like they’re after the avatar.”

He was bluffing, right? He had to be. The Earth Kingdom wasn’t a force to be messed with, as she had found out back at the hot springs with Iroh. “...Swear you’ll take me back to Zuko, and I’ll talk.”

“Deal!” Aang agreed before Sokka could interject. “Who are you? Why did they call you the Golden Dragon? Are you a spirit? Why did the Fire Sages know you? Did you live there?”

Yzako would have laughed at his string of questions if she weren’t so angry with them. She was basically their prisoner, and the only reason she wasn’t trying to kill the Water Tribe kids and apprehend the avatar was that she had no idea how she was going to get out of the sky again afterwards. 

Plus, they had saved her life. Every second she kept them talking was another second she wasn’t falling to her death. And, as the avatar stared at her with those big eyes full of wonder, she remembered how Kul had worked with Roku to destroy the island temple. A wave of calm washed over her, and she heard the tired hum of the dragon as he stirred slightly around her. Trusting Kul had worked for her so far, and as she took a deep breath, she figured she might as well continue on doing so.

“My name is Yzako,” she said, relaxing slightly and moving to sit more comfortably. “I’m called the Golden Dragon because that’s what I am.”

Their faces dropped in shock. 

“You’re a dragon?” Aang asked excitedly. “A real dragon?”

“Aang, she can’t be a real dragon,” Sokka argued. “Look at her. No wings. No horns. She’s just a firebender with a bunch of tricks up her sleeve.”

“It’s a spirit dragon,” Katara glared at her brother and then looked at Yzako. “That’s what we saw at the temple, right?”

“Right.” Yzako nodded. “When I was born, the dragon on our island gave me a blessing. As I lived, he died. Now he goes with me wherever I go.”

“So...you aren’t the dragon...but you carry his spirit.” Aang said, smiling. “But why didn’t he cross over into the spirit world?”

Yzako shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Is he here right now? Maybe I can talk to him! I am the avatar, after all.” 

Yzako snorted. “He’s always here, but he’s been tired ever since the solstice. He barely did anything during that entire fight with the pirates.”

“Which, might I add, you guys started!” Sokka piped up, pointing at her. 

She rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to go back to bed and sleep. Tumbling down a waterfall wasn’t exactly in my plans yesterday.”

He crossed his arms over his chest with a loud hmph and looked away. 

“Well...what’s the dragon spirit’s name?” Aang asked. 

Yzako looked back at him. “Kul.”

The avatar smiled, putting his fists together and bowing. “Golden Dragon Kul, thank you for helping Avatar Roku destroy the temple so we could all escape.”

A gentle growl floated around the four of them, carried on a sudden warm breeze that swirled around the sky bison. Yzako couldn’t help but reach out into the air with a smile, feeling something almost ghostlike slipping through her fingers. The avatar grinned widely, looking around them, and Katara’s expression changed to one of wonder. Even Sokka’s face dropped when Kul gave another low bellow. 

“No kidding,” he said in shock. 

“Told you.” Yzako said smugly.

“See, Sokka?” Aang smiled. “Just another happy spirit, thanks to the avatar.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Sokka grumbled.

“But...I do want to know one thing.” Katara said. “At the temple, you talked about the chains they tied us up with...why would they—“

“Why would they imprison a dragon?” Yzako interrupted. “When I was ten, the Fire Sages took me to their temple to train me. When I misbehaved, they would chain me up and leave me for days, trying to break me.”

“Oh,” Aang looked down at his lap. “That’s why Kul’s spirit was so angry with the sages…just like how Hei Bai was upset that the forest was burned down.”

“I don’t know what that means, but sure.”

“Why are you traveling with Zuko?” Katara asked. 

“Because it’s better than the alternative.” Yzako answered. It wasn’t a lie; following the avatar around was a lot better than trying to assassinate the man she was sleeping with, or being on the run in the Earth Kingdom while trying to hide from Ozai. 

“Well, you can talk about your fancy spirits all you want, but I still don’t trust you.” Sokka said with a frown.

“That’s fine. No one asked you to trust me.” Yzako replied coldly. 

They looked at each other uneasily. No matter how civil she was being, this was still a firebender, and she was clearly allied with Prince Zuko. They spent the rest of the flight in an uncomfortable silence, and didn’t linger long after they dropped her off just outside the harbor town Zuko’s ship was hopefully still docked at. 

Yzako walked away without a glance back, something that could be perceived as uncaring or cruel. In reality, it was because she couldn’t bear the way all of her targets were suddenly being humanized. It was a lot harder to think about capturing or killing someone when she wasn’t having pleasant conversations with them. 

As she trudged along the docks, she breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the cruiser. She half expected it to be gone already, setting off after the avatar and leaving her to fend for herself. When she dragged her tired body up the gangway, however, she was met with the surprised faces of half a dozen crewmen. They led her up to the bridge, tossed a blanket over her shoulders, and soon enough, Iroh was running up with freshly brewed tea.

“Send word to Prince Zuko!” he said happily, sitting down across from Yzako. “He will be pleased to know he can call off his search.”

“Yes, General Iroh.” A man replied.

“His search?” Yzako asked, holding her cup of tea with both hands. 

“Oh, yes.” Iroh smiled at her. “My nephew was beside himself when he saw that you had gone over that waterfall. He and half the crew have been out looking for you all over the forest.”

She looked down at the tea. He had been hunting for her the whole time she was gone? Did he actually care about her? 

“He was convinced that the avatar had captured you and was holding you ransom,” Iroh chuckled, taking a sip from his cup. “But, as I suspected, you returned safe and sound on your own.”

Yzako nodded a little, following his lead and sipping her tea. She didn’t know how to even begin processing everything that had happened. Kul liked the avatar...which made sense, seeing as he was supposed to be the link between the spirit and physical worlds. He and his friends had saved her from what would have probably been a pretty unpleasant death. And the worst part of it all was how she had just sat there and done nothing when they were all within an arm’s reach. 

When she finished her tea and Zuko had yet to return, Iroh walked Yzako down to her bedroom. He fluffed her pillows, laid out her sleep clothes, and turned towards the door to make his way out again. 

“Iroh?” She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

“Hm?” He turned back to look at her. 

“Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Why, of course,” he smiled warmly, walking back over to her. “What is troubling you?”

“It’s just…we haven’t gotten a chance to talk about what happened at the temple.”

He closed his eyes, bowing his head slightly. “What I saw from the ship was Avatar Roku’s temple falling into the volcano.”

“What did Zuko tell you?”

“Prince Zuko claims to have escaped on the back of a dragon.” He raised a hand to his chin in thought. “Perhaps it was the energy of the winter solstice that gave Kul such strength.”

“I guess so…” Yzako frowned. “He’s been quiet ever since.”

“He needs to rest.” Iroh smiled. “Much like you do now.”

“But I don’t want to!” She protested like a child at bedtime. 

The old man just chuckled. “We will speak with the Golden Dragon and resume your training again soon. I’m sure in the meantime, there is much to meditate on, even if done in your dreams.”

She let out a humph and flopped back onto her bed. “I’m not tired. I want to keep talking.”

“Then you could regale me,” he smiled so wide his eyes closed. “How did you survive the waterfall and return to us so quickly?”

She sat up again. “I landed on the avatar’s flying bison. They agreed to take me to the edge of town so I could walk the rest of the way to the ship.”

“So you spoke with the avatar?” he folded his hands in his sleeves. “I would not tell Prince Zuko, if I were you.”

Yzako frowned. “Yeah, I didn’t think he would like the fact that I came back without the avatar slung over my shoulder.”

Iroh sighed. “My nephew was beside himself with worry the second he realized you were missing. He wanted to jump in when he saw that the ships had gone over the falls. I’ve not seen the prince so terrified since…” he caught himself, letting his sentence trail off. 

“Since what, Iroh?” Yzako asked. 

“Nothing, nothing! Just the ramblings of an old man.” he bowed his head to her. “I will leave you to rest, Yzako.”

As the old man headed for the door, Yzako heard loud footsteps in the hall. As Iroh went to step out, he was suddenly pushed to the side, Zuko rushing into the room. He was still wearing his armor, his eyes frantic as he finally found Yzako sitting on the bed and breathed a steamy sigh of relief. 

Iroh just smiled and closed the door, leaving them to it. The look on his nephew’s face was all he needed to see to know that Yzako would be in good hands for the rest of the evening. In their years at sea, Zuko had never cared about anything other than restoring his honor and returning to his old life. He clung to the hope that the Fire Lord would welcome him home, but Iroh--and, he suspected, Yzako--didn’t see that happening. 

The dragon girl was changing something in Zuko, though, and Iroh hoped it would be for the better. 

In her room, Yzako stood to meet Zuko, his arms quickly wrapping around her in a tight embrace. She could hear his heart pounding, even behind his armor, and she let out a long sigh as she deflated against him. 

“Iroh said you were worried about me.”

He was silent for a moment. “I thought you went over the falls. Then I saw the flying bison, and the men didn’t find any sign of you in the river.”

“I landed on the bison when it caught the avatar and his friends.” Yzako said, voice muffled by his shoulder. “The impact knocked me out.”

“Where did they take you?”

“I woke up outside of town again. That’s all I can remember.” she lied, trying to keep her breath steady so that he wouldn’t see straight through it.

She was expecting him to question her, to shake her down for more information on where the avatar was headed. She thought he would yell at her, harping about how she should have done something more. But he didn’t do any of that; to her surprise, he was quiet, his arms just squeezing her tighter. 

“I’m just glad you’re back.” he mumbled into her hair, pressing a kiss against the side of her head. 

“Me too,” she turned her face to the side so that her cheek was resting on his chest. “Just...no more pirates. Please.”

He snorted a laugh. “We wouldn’t have had any problems if someone wouldn’t go falling over waterfalls…”

“What can I say, I just love the thrill.” she rolled her eyes. 

Zuko chuckled, and Yzako felt her heart warming slightly at the sound. She didn’t realize how much she loved it until she was hearing it. Her hands slid up under his armor, and he pulled back to let her remove it before pushing her back down on her bed. 

The prince just laid on his side, pulling her up against him and letting out a long sigh. Yzako found herself smiling as his breath tickled her ear, and the way her belly was stirring made her want to roll over and attack him with her lips. Before she could even twist her hips, though, Zuko’s hand was finding its way up under her shirt.

“Have I told you how great these are?” he asked, squeezing a tit. 

“I seem to recall you showed your appreciation recently,” she bit her lip as his thumb brushed over her nipple. 

“Maybe I want to show my appreciation again….”

She arched her back, pressing her ass back against his crotch. “Feel like showing me anything else tonight?”

He nipped at her neck, squeezing her breast again. “Only if you’re up for it.”

Yzako wiggled around to face him, throwing her leg up over his hip. “You were the first thing I thought about when I woke up again.”

He stared at her, and for a moment, she was afraid she had said too much. As her golden eyes met his amber gaze, she felt like she was melting, drowning in those beautiful honey pools. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, his words made her melt even further. 

“You’re always the first thing I think about when I wake up.”


	14. Meeting the Dragon

“Commander Zhao, a messenger hawk has just arrived from the capital.” 

Zhao turned towards the approaching soldier with a smirk, reaching out his hand expectantly. “A response from the Fire Lord, I imagine.”

“Yes, sir.” the man handed Zhao a metal tube filled with a roll of parchment. Zhao took it and turned, immediately opening it to read. As he did so, his smirk only widened, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the news. 

“Excellent,” Zhao said, an unnervingly cruel look in his eyes. “Thank you, ensign.”

“Good news, commander?”

“Yes.” Zhao grinned, looking over the Fire Lord’s writing again. “The Fire Lord has just given us the go ahead to capture not only the banished prince and the avatar, but the Golden Dragon as well.”

“Wasn’t she working under him, though?”

Zhao turned back towards the officer. “It seems that our dear Yzako has made several grave errors that the Fire Lord simply cannot forgive.”

“Are we to use lethal force, sir?”

“No.” Zhao grimaced slightly. “Regrettably, the Fire Lord has been clear in his orders to keep her alive. We are to deliver her to the palace immediately upon her arrest.”

“Has she been branded a traitor?”

“She’s been branded a runaway,” Zhao’s little smirk returned. “Spread word amongst the fleet. The Golden Dragon is to be taken alive, no matter the cost.”

“Yes, sir.” the ensign saluted and turned to leave. 

“Oh, and ensign? Be sure to let them know that while the Fire Lord demands she be brought in breathing, he included no details on just how well she should be breathing. Use whatever force necessary to capture her, should anyone find her before I do.”

“Yes, sir.” 

As the ensign walked away, Zhao turned back towards the night sky, the Fire Lord’s letter clutched tightly in his hand. He had been eagerly awaiting a response to his own message, one that he had sent immediately after spotting Yzako on Prince Zuko’s ship.

As far as Zhao was concerned, she was a traitor, and after her behavior at the temple, he had sent another urgent message to the Fire Lord. His pleas had finally been answered, it seemed, and he was all too eager to put the Golden Dragon back in her place. 

He sneered to himself as he thought about her. Such a bold girl, strutting around covered in gold and turning her nose up at anyone who came across her. Her presence had been annoying from the moment she set foot in his shipyard, her arrogance immediately getting on his nerves whenever they spoke. Then, she simply disappeared after the traitorous prince and retired general showed up? Not to mention the personal insult he had been dealt when she aided Zuko in his agni kai...he had wanted to kill Yzako then and there, but feared the Fire Lord’s wrath would be incurred if he did.

So, imagine his absolute delight upon discovering her to be traveling on the banished prince’s little ship as they ran the blockade, and then the absolute joy he felt when he encountered her aiding the avatar on the solstice. Well, she had spent most of her time in the temple irritating Zhao, dancing around like a circus animal performing tricks, but as far as Fire Lord Ozai was concerned, she had been found aiding and abetting an enemy of the Fire Nation. 

Return my wayward dragon to me. Alive. 

Was all the Fire Lord’s message to Zhao said. It was simple, quick and concise, but it was more than enough to get Ozai’s point across. It confirmed that Yzako had been working for the throne, but, as Zhao suspected, she had very quickly strayed from her mission. While he didn’t know exactly what responsibilities she was trying to escape, he did know that capturing her would put him even more in the Fire Lord’s favor, and at the thought of the glory he would receive when he brought back the banished prince, the avatar, and the dragon girl, an incredibly wicked grin twisted on his lips. He had never considered himself a cruel man, but he was determined, and he was ruthless.

And he was prepared to do whatever it took to see the look on Yzako’s face when he threw her in the brig to take her back to the Fire Lord.

\--

Yzako couldn’t deny that she loved watching Zuko spar with the soldiers. As she sat with her legs crossed, listening to Iroh reading some poetry from a scroll, she couldn’t help the way her eyes followed the prince’s every move. He was graceful, power flowing through his muscles with every step. It reminded her of a big cat, lean and strong and sure of himself as he trained with his lieutenant, an older man with more experience than many of the others onboard. 

“Yzako, have you been listening to my poetry at all?”

“Hm?” she looked up at Iroh. “Yes. Definitely. Sorry.”

“I worked hard on this!” the old man exclaimed. 

“I can tell!” Yzako held her hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I got distracted. Please, continue?”

Iroh rolled his eyes in exasperation. “What could possibly be more interesting than--oh. I see.” a wry smile worked its way onto his face as he looked out across the deck towards the prince. “Prince Zuko’s form has been improving these past weeks, don’t you think?”

“Mhm,” Yzako sighed quietly, her chin resting on her hand as she returned to staring at her lover. 

“I wonder what it is that could be influencing him,” Iroh said slyly, rolling his poetry scroll back up and slipping it into his sleeve.

“Dunno,” Yzako said dreamily, not really listening. 

Zuko was moving quickly, pivoting on one foot while kicking out with the other. The lieutenant was trying his best to keep up, his face stuck in a grimace as he concentrated on the prince’s movements. Iroh was right; Zuko’s fighting had been steadily improving since Yzako had come aboard the ship, and she had been chalking it up to the fact that he finally had such a difficult opponent to face. 

“You have also been learning,” Iroh commented, looking down at her.

She glanced back up at him. “Well, I have a very good teacher.”

“Your kind words are appreciated,” he smiled. “But, I have seen more than just your fighting and connection to the Golden Dragon changing.”

Yzako looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“Well, look at us now! When we first met, you barely spoke, especially with my nephew.” his smile widened. “I have watched you grow more and more comfortable with other people by the day.”

She frowned, looking down at her hands. “Have I changed that much?”

“If you ask me, I think you are beginning to truly blossom.” he closed his eyes, enjoying the sea breeze. “Perhaps that is part of why Kul is growing stronger as well.”

Yzako returned her chin to her hand and her gaze found its way back to Zuko. “Do you think I should let Zuko talk to him?”

“The Golden Dragon already showed himself to the prince, and even allowed Zuko to ride him…” Iroh stroked his beard in thought. “It seems to me that the spirit has been comfortable with my nephew ever since you gave Zuko the dragon’s blessing when he dueled Commander Zhao.”

“That’s true…”

“Perhaps tonight,” Iroh put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “If the weather is good, we can have some tea out under the stars.”

Yzako looked up at him and returned his smile. “That would be nice.”

Iroh just bowed his head to her and returned his hand to his sleeve. “Then that is what we will do. In the meantime, why not stretch your legs a bit? It seems the lieutenant is running out of steam.”

He was right; Yzako watched as Zuko easily defeated his opponent, the prince just stepping back and turning to grab his water flask. She had noticed that the prince never bothered helping his sparring partners back up after he brought them down, and unless Iroh yelled at him, he rarely even bowed when they were finished. Just another facet of his annoying spoiled attitude, she supposed. 

She jumped to her feet, walking up to stand near the defeated lieutenant. She was pulling her shirt off as she did so, revealing her normal loose chest bindings as she discarded the tunic. “Care for another round, Prince Zuko?” 

Zuko turned back to look at her in surprise. As he took a swig from his flask, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sheen of sweat on his bare chest, and she could tell that he noticed her staring. He smirked, tossing his water down and walking towards her.

“Think you’re up for it?” he teased, stepping into a defensive stance anyways.

“I’ve had a few days off. You should probably be worried.” she grinned and mirrored him, stepping past the lieutenant as he rolled his eyes and walked away to watch from a distance. 

Yzako came towards Zuko with all the pent up energy she had. He barely managed to block her punches and kicks as she moved in tune with the dragon spirit joined with hers, Kul waking up to make her fire burn brighter and hotter. She and the prince always had spectacular, almost beautiful sparring sessions, Yzako practically dancing as she twisted around him with a serpentine grace no one else on the ship could ever hope to achieve. 

Iroh watched with a pleased smile on his face. The girl had improved greatly since he had begun working with her, and he could see that her newfound breath control was starting to pay off. The oxygen she took in as she kept her breathing deep and steady was aiding her, fanning her flames and giving her the extra strength necessary to endure the long fights Zuko put up against her now that he had been forced to step up his own training. They complemented each other well, stepping in tandem, turning the sparring into something more like a demonstration than a workout. 

Iroh was proud, of both his hotheaded nephew and the dragon girl who was bringing him out of his shell. 

Yzako laughed as she pivoted on the ball of her foot to dodge a punch. It felt good to be doing something other than laying in bed like she had for the last couple days since the waterfall incident, and she hadn’t even seen Zuko outside of dinner the entire day before. She didn’t even care that the crew was watching, ignoring their burning gazes on her skin. If they wanted to stare, they could; she wasn’t interested in giving them the time of day while she had better things to do. 

She could see Zuko getting tired, his breathing growing rapid as his chest heaved. His movements were slowing, and she took the opportunity to close the gap between them. Her arm found its way around his chest as he was lunging towards her, and as she gripped him in a platypus bear hug, she let his momentum carry him further and managed to flip him onto his back. 

Zuko let out a surprised yell as he hit the deck. When Yzako stepped on his chest with her bare foot to hold him down, he instinctively grabbed her calf with both hands. They stared at each other, and it took an internal fight with himself for Zuko to not massage his way up that calf to her thigh. Instead, he just tried to shove her foot off of him, desperate to keep up appearances in front of the crew. 

She just smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Trying to go somewhere, Prince Zuko?”

“Get off,” he growled, glowering up at her. 

“Ooh, is that an order?” she taunted. 

“It’s an order from your crown prince!” he snarled, pulling at her ankle. 

She just grinned down at him, her eyes dancing mischievously. Before she stepped off of him fully, she gave him a little shove, then a light kick to his shoulder before she turned to collect her shirt off the deck. 

As Zuko stood, Yzako turned back and bowed to him before she went back to join Iroh, much more willing to focus on his poetry reading now that she had had some skin on skin action with the prince. She noticed a few of the men watching her, but as she sat down with the Dragon of the West, they all slowly returned to their business, mumbling to each other. 

Zuko continued with his exercises, glancing over at his uncle and Yzako every few minutes. He was admiring the way her golden collar caught the sunlight whenever she moved, and part of him wished that she liked it as much as he did. It was understandable that she hated the thing that reminded her of her past so much; shit, he looked at himself every day and saw the ugly, gnarled scar on his face. It constantly made him think of his father and the home he was desperately trying to return to, and he imagined she had some sort of similar feelings about her collar. 

The gold made her look regal, though. It shone brightly, and it was making him miss the opulence of the Fire Nation royal palace even more than usual. It was easy to picture her there, amongst the luxury and lavishness. Maybe, when this was all over, he would take her back with him and then court her properly. She could stay there with him, when his honor was restored, live in the palace and wear her pretty robes and golden crown. She wouldn’t have to worry about being trapped in a temple, or kidnapped, or fighting for her life. 

As he looked over at her, sitting there listening to his uncle reading poetry to her, Zuko noticed how happy she seemed. She was...calm, head tilted back as the sea breeze blew through the strands of hair that were down around her face. He watched her close her eyes, and it was almost as if she were moving in slow motion. 

Yes, he definitely wanted to take her back to the palace. He could make sure she had everything she wanted there, so she never had to leave. The tastiest foods, the finest silks...he was sure that once his honor was restored, his father would welcome The Golden Dragon with open arms; after all, hadn’t she already stayed at the palace for a few months? If the Fire Lord was willing to give her any kind of tasks, it meant that he valued her highly. It wasn’t as if the royal family was desperate for the money to house guests, either. She could be happy there, with him, in her pretty golden collar. 

But a dragon wasn’t meant to be collared and chained. Even he knew that. 

\--

After dinner that evening, Yzako went back to her room to change, meditate, and wait for nightfall. She was both excited and nervous to let Zuko officially meet her spirit dragon face to face, and when it was finally getting to be time for her to rendezvous with Iroh and the prince up on the main deck, she jumped to her feet and rushed out. 

She tried to be quiet, tip toeing through the hall in an effort to avoid any suspicion. It was the same way she always went creeping up to the deck in the middle of the night, and usually, she didn’t come across anyone. This time, though, she froze at the sound of footsteps and tried to look as natural as possible as someone rounded the corner. Yzako groaned when she recognized him as one of the ones who liked to stare at her and talk about her tits. 

“Ah, excuse me,” the man smirked when he saw her. “I didn’t realize this corridor was taken.”

“My apologies.” Yzako said, bowing her head to him slightly. “Just out stretching my legs.”

“A clandestine visit, perhaps?” he leered at her. 

She recoiled. “Excuse me?”

“If I were royalty, banished or not, I wouldn’t hide any of my dealings.” he smiled smugly at her and then leaned against the wall, legs stretched out to continue blocking her path. 

“Dealings?”

“Don’t play coy. How much did the prince pay Commander Zhao to hand you over to him?” 

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for something this stupid. Let me pass.”

“Ah, too much for a mere sailor like me?” he laughed. “Come on. Indulge me...I’m curious about what royalty like Prince Zuko gets to enjoy.”

Yzako’s nostrils flared angrily. “If I were selling any services, what makes you think I would want to do business with someone as rude as you?”

His face dropped in surprise. “What?”

“You’re impolite.” she raised her lip in a snarl. “You’re disrespectful. No working girl is going to want to get on her back for you.” 

Yzako watched the man’s expression twist into a nasty sneer. “Watch your mouth, you bitch. Just because you strut around in all your gold and silks doesn’t mean you’re better than the rest of us on this ship.”

Heat surged in Yzako’s chest and she grinned cruelly. “Oh? Now it’s your turn to indulge me, sailor.”

“You jumped from Zhao’s harbor onto the prince’s ship. Don’t act like you don’t know how that looks to the men on this vessel.” he straightened up and took a step toward her. “Especially with that collar...you’re a royal concubine, slipping in and out of beds whenever you please.”

It was Yzako’s turn to smirk. “You sound jealous of the royal family right now...you wouldn’t want word of your disloyalty getting out, would you?”

“Excuse me?” he growled. 

She shrugged. “You’re already sailing under a banished prince. How do you think that looks? You said it yourself, I just came from Zhao’s harbor. I’ve heard how the others talk about this crew.” she grinned as she lied through her teeth. 

“You bitch,” he snarled, taking another step towards her. 

“One more step, and you’ll be imprisoned for putting your filthy hands on me.” she said bravely, staring him down.

“So you’re admitting it?” he laughed. “Admitting that you’re rolling around in Zuko’s sheets?”

Yzako raised a hand, holding it palm out in front of her. “If I was, I wouldn’t be ashamed to tell you that I was bedding the Fire Nation prince. Few people could ever have the honor of spending even one evening dinner with royalty, let alone something more.”

“Whore,” the man spat on the ground in front of her. 

She looked down at the saliva at her feet, then back up to him. “Stop wasting my time.”

“Or what?”

With a snarl, Yzako’s hand made contact with her opponent’s chest, and she felt fire from her palm burning through his uniform. “You’re arrogant. You’re annoying.”

He looked down in horror, mouth open in a silent scream as she pushed him back towards the stairs at the end of the hall. Her hand made contact with his flesh and she could smell it burning, her fingers curling into claws as she pressed harder. 

“No one, whore or civilian, should ever have the misfortune of fucking you,” she sneered in his face. With a shove, she sent him stumbling back onto the steps and leaned over him. “I don’t care if the crew thinks I’m fucking the prince. I don’t care if you want to whisper and gossip like school children about the way my tits and ass look. But you will respect me when you do it.”

She reached back out and grabbed the front of his uniform, pulling him back up. She spat on his face, just as he had at her feet, and when she saw the look of pure fear and embarrassment in his eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. Letting him go, she wiped her hands on her pants and stepped around him. 

“Get the fuck out of my sight, and I won’t tell the prince and the general what you just said to me.” she didn’t bother looking back at him, instead just making her way up the stairs. She listened for his footsteps, but didn’t hear anything coming after her, and when she reached the deck, all she saw were two silhouettes waiting for her. 

“I don’t understand why we’re out here!” she heard Zuko yell angrily. 

“Have someplace better to be?” Yzako asked as she approached. 

“Ah, welcome!” Iroh greeted her with a bow. “Prince Zuko and I were just enjoying the calm night sky.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at Zuko’s angry expression. “I’m sure the prince is absolutely enthralled.”

“I brought tea,” Iroh said, sitting down to pour them all a cup. Zuko rolled his eyes, waiting for Yzako to sit down across from his uncle before he joined them. 

When Iroh poured one cup too many, as he always did, Yzako saw Zuko frown. “Uncle, why are you wasting tea?” He sounded irritated, like usual. 

Iroh chuckled. “It isn’t a waste, nephew. I am simply honoring our guest.”

“What--”

Before Zuko could finish, a familiar breeze twisted around the group. Yzako felt a surge of energy in her chest, her limbs buzzing as a low grumble floated past her. Kul’s silvery form materialized, standing behind Yzako as they both faced the prince. 

Zuko looked shocked. His eyes were wide, but he didn’t bow the way that Iroh did, even as the old man sat on the deck; instead, the prince just stared up at the dragon, his expression changing into something else entirely. Yzako swore she almost saw tears welling in his eyes as he just took Kul’s visage in, and she couldn’t really blame him; the Golden Dragon was an impressive sight. He had the uncanny ability to bring every emotion swelling to the surface, just like he could calm them again.

“This is Kul,” Yzako said quietly, the dragon’s breath hot on her back as he continued staring at Zuko. 

The prince swallowed hard, nodding. He seemed like he was trying to process what his eyes were seeing, despite having already experienced the dragon’s presence. It was one thing to see him amidst the chaos of a crumbling temple, though, and something else to be in his presence on a calm night like this. 

With a low growl, Kul bowed his head to Zuko, finally sitting down and wrapping his long body around the three of them as he always did with Yzako and Iroh. The girl leaned back against his leg, picking up her tea and taking a sip as Zuko continued to stare. 

“Staring is rude, Prince Zuko,” Iroh chastised him. 

Kul coughed a laugh, and Yzako smiled. As she looked up at the night sky, she saw that it was clear, and twinkling with stars. The tea in her hands was hot, the company was good, and as Prince Zuko finally began relaxing under the gaze of the Golden Dragon, Yzako couldn’t help but feel like they had all managed to find a moment of true peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think?? This is just another little filler chapter. The next one is BIG, so buckle up for it!


	15. The Storm pt I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * TW for abuse dream sequence right at the beginning of this chapter, skip to the paragraph break to avoid it! *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Storm is one of my favorite ATLA episodes, because it finally showed us Zuko's backstory and really started making so many of us love him and his character arc! I initially wrote this as all one chapter, but decided to split it into two parts because it was just SO much. Please let me know if you guys prefer shorter chapters around this length, or if you like longer ones! Other than that, well...good luck lol

“Stay down!”

She winced at the crack of a whip and the pain that lashed through her back immediately after. It came again, and again, and again, bright white bursts of agony that made her grit her teeth. They were so sharp, stinging so hard, that she couldn’t even scream out; all she could do was kneel, head hung, arms and neck shackled.

When the whipping paused, she finally dared to open her eyes. The room was dark, except for the torches lit in each corner and the bright, fiery whip the Great Sage held in his hand. Yzako’s nostrils flared angrily at the sight, but more than anything, she wanted to be allowed to cry. She wanted to open up and let all of her molten anger and grief out, but she knew that she couldn’t do anything like that in front of the sage.

The air was cold, but she was sweaty and hot, shaking from the pain and trying her best to breathe evenly. In, out, focus on breathing...

“You never learn your lesson,” the sage said angrily, circling her. “Time and time again, we--I--have tried to teach you control. To teach you to be conservative in all things. Always, over and over, we find ourselves in this exact situation.”

Yzako heard the crack of the whip and squeezed her eyes shut just in time to feel the sharp sting and the burn that followed. She tried to squeeze her hands into fists, but the chains that wrapped around her wrists were tangled through her fingers in an effort to keep her from bending. Her ears were ringing, her head hurting, her vision blurring when she opened her eyes again. She swallowed hard, trying to find some way to ease her discomfort, but when the sage started speaking again, she knew nothing would save her.

“You continue to be a disappointment,” he snarled. “Day after day, you refuse to learn, and you do nothing but endanger those around you.”

The crack.

The pain.

She lurched forward, grunting in pain. “I’m trying!”

“Are you?” he asked. “You do not deserve the power you wield. You will never honor the Golden Dragon’s legacy.”

She felt another sharp lash from the whip and finally reached her tipping point. A sob wracked through her, hot tears pouring from her eyes and running down her sweaty face. There was no stopping it once they had started, and as she stared down at drops on the floor in front of her, she heard the noise of disgust the Great Sage made.

“Really? Tears?” he asked.

She sniffled, trying to just suck them all back up. Maybe if she had been born a waterbender, she could just get rid of them and pretend they had never even been there. Instead, they were so hot there was steam rising from them, evaporating after a few moments on the floor. If she had been a waterbender, she wouldn’t be living this way; she would be somewhere cold, free of the Fire Sages, free of their chains.

“Sixteen years old, and all you can do is cry.” the Great Sage sneered. “Pathetic.”

\--

“Yzako?”

She felt a hand on her face and her eyes shot open. The room around her was fuzzy, but as it came into focus, she saw that it was dark, and cold...she was disoriented, trying to figure out where she was and what just happened. She felt something move beside her and she twisted her neck around to see what it was, only to be met with a scarred face.

“Are you okay?” he had an arm around her, a hand hovering near her cheek. “You were crying.”

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “I was?”

“Yes.” he wiped his thumb under her eye to prove his point. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No!” she snapped quickly, starting to pull away from him. She felt humiliated, betrayed by herself in front of the prince. She didn’t need him to think that she was this weak. A silly nightmare, reducing her to tears? He was bound to laugh at her for that.

Zuko frowned. “You can tell me about it.”

“No.” she said hastily, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes.

He followed, his brow furrowed angrily. “Tell me what’s wrong!”

She turned towards him quickly, her teeth bared in a draconic snarl. “I’m fine!”

He stood his ground, staring her down just inches away from the steam billowing from her nostrils. He faced her stubbornly, a frustrated, sour expression painting his features. “You don’t seem fine.”

Yzako’s lip raised in a nasty sneer. Her first instinct was to react angrily, to protect herself from the pain and embarrassment she was still feeling from her nightmare. She wanted to hide, like a scared animal, but Zuko’s golden eyes weren’t giving her anywhere to go.

“I’m fine.” she swallowed hard and looked down, trying to get ahold of herself. The sheets under her fingers were silky, a far cry from the cold floor she had been remembering in her dream. There were candles on the table across from the bed, their soft glow dimming slightly as the tension in the prince’s room started to dissipate.

She was okay.

She was safe.

As she continued staring at the wall above the table, noticing the curve of two swords mounted on it, Yzako felt Zuko’s arms wrap around her. He leaned his chin on her shoulder, his breath warm as it hit her cheek.

“It was just a dream,” Yzako mumbled. “That’s all.”

Zuko was silent for a few minutes. “I hate dreams.”

She twisted her head to look back at him. “Me too.”

An uneasy silence fell over them, but Zuko broke it with a kiss to her cheek. “I should be up on the deck. And you need to get dressed.”

Yzako sat back against the pillows as the prince climbed out of bed. She smirked a little, admiring the sight of his bare skin. “Oh, I need to get dressed?”

He looked back at her, eyebrow raised. “Would you rather go running back to your room naked like this?”

“I would be the talk of the ship.” she said sarcastically, sliding out from under the covers. “Where’s my shirt?”

He tossed it to her and she caught it, pulling it on as Zuko began getting dressed. She found her pants, putting them on before stepping over to give the prince a kiss. He was still shirtless, and she put a hand on his chest to admire his muscles before pulling away and slipping out the door.

It was still early morning, and thankfully, she made it back to her own room without seeing anyone. Zuko had invited her into his chambers late the night before, after they had finished their tea with Iroh and Kul, and now she was faced with the task of getting ready for her day as if she hadn’t just slept in the prince’s bed. It felt different than when he had spent time in her quarters, somehow...more official, more daunting. The crown prince of the Fire Nation could do whatever he wanted, stay wherever he wanted, sleep in whichever bed he chose, but Yzako didn’t feel like she had that status. Being invited into his room for the entire night was...impressive, it seemed.

She washed up and got ready to train, glancing at herself in the mirror as she put her hair up. Her eyes were still red from the heat of her tears, but it was beginning to fade away. Hopefully by the time she made it onto the deck, she would either look normal, or look too grouchy for anyone to get close enough to notice.

When she walked up to find Iroh, she was greeted with the bright, warm sun, and a peaceful breeze that blew the few strands of short hair that fell around her face. Everything was normal; the crew were all doing their jobs, the sky was blue and free of even the smallest cloud, and Zuko was standing near his uncle, surveying the horizon with a spyglass.

As Yzako started towards them, the sound of birds overhead made her pause and look up. She could see a flock of gulls flying in the opposite direction they were sailing, and she frowned. She didn’t know much about wildlife, having lived entirely inside for half her life, but the way the birds were rushing away reminded her of her childhood on the island.

“Iroh,” she bowed when she reached her mentor.

“Good morning, Yzako,” he bowed his head in return and then looked back out over the water. She watched him inhale deeply, his hands clasped behind his back before he spoke again. “There is a storm coming. A big one.”

Yzako stepped up next to him, following his gaze. The sea stretched on, blending in with the sky. To her, it looked like a perfect, calm day.

“You’re out of your mind, uncle. The weather’s perfect. There’s not a cloud in sight.” Zuko said from behind them.

Iroh walked forward towards the bow of the ship. “A storm is coming from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest.” he turned back to look at Yzako and his nephew, hands folded in his sleeves.

Zuko strode forward. “We know the avatar is traveling northward. So we will do the same.” he clasped his hands behind his back, his posture rigid and imposing. Yzako recognized it; it meant that his mind was made up, and he wasn’t going to hear anyone else’s opinion on anything.

“Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew.” Iroh warned.

“The safety of the crew doesn’t matter!” Zuko said loudly.

A short distance across the deck, the lieutenant stopped his work to stare at the prince. Yzako saw an angry look on the man’s face, something akin to disgust, and when Zuko turned and saw it too, he crossed the distance between them to sneer.

“Finding the avatar is far more important than any individual’s safety.” the prince said, before walking past the crewman and disappearing below deck.

“He doesn’t mean that, he’s just all worked up,” Iroh tried to apologize on his nephew’s behalf.

The lieutenant looked over at the old man and Yzako with a frown and a quirked brow, focusing on the girl. “I’m sure he is.”

She kept her face straight. “The prince is under pressure to deliver the avatar to the Fire Lord. It would put unbearable stress on anyone.”

Iroh nodded enthusiastically, but the lieutenant just let out a hmph and turned away. Yzako watched him go, finally letting her expression fall. Her face was strained from staying neutral, and she scowled when she looked over at Iroh.

“Prince Zuko should not have been so rash,” the old man said. “The crew will not respect his anger as much as they would respect his compassion.”

“The lieutenant is going to tell the others about that,” Yzako said bitterly.

“Yes, I’m sure he will.” Iroh sighed. “I cannot blame them for disliking their prince when this is the face he shows them.”

Yzako had to agree with him. As always, the Zuko she saw on the deck was almost nothing like the Zuko she spent the night with. He was so angry in front of others, almost hateful...with just her, in the safety of their rooms, he was softer, gentler. She didn’t fully understand why; she could guess, from what she had seen at the palace and from the bits and pieces he had told her, that his life hadn’t been as great as one would imagine it would be for a crown prince.

Looking over at Iroh as he stroked his beard, Yzako wondered what the old man’s life had been like as well. He was a crown prince too, one who hadn’t been given the throne. Had he once been as angry as Zuko was, or as pompous as Azula? Having Ozai as a brother couldn’t have been easy.

“We should do our best to enjoy the calm before the storm,” Iroh spoke up. “I have a new bending technique for you today. It is called Five Ostrich Horses, and it is something I learned from observing the Earth Kingdom soldiers when I held siege at Ba Sing Se.”

Yzako offered him a small smile and stepped back, bowing and falling into a ready stance as she watched him. She imitated his movements, and as they worked up a sweat, she found herself forgetting about Zuko’s outburst. Her training with Iroh really had been improving her ability to focus and control her own temper, and she didn’t even notice the change in the clouds overhead.

“We should stop now,” Iroh said suddenly, exhaling deeply and bowing his head.

Yzako straightened up and mirrored him, looking over her shoulder towards the front of the ship. When she saw the heavy storm clouds moving in towards them, her heart dropped. They were huge and angry, lightning flashing over the water.

“Oh no,” she breathed, staring.

“It will not be pleasant,” Iroh said, stepping up next to her. “We can only hope that the crew and ship can weather it.”

At the sound of footsteps, they both turned to see several crewmen standing behind them, staring forward at the approaching storm. As if on cue, Prince Zuko appeared from the bridge, slamming the heavy metal door behind him and glowering at the scene before him. Iroh rushed forward, Yzako in tow, determined to intervene in the event of a fight.

“Well, looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all!” the lieutenant said angrily, crossing his arms over his chest as he faced Zuko.

“Lucky guess!” Iroh said quickly, holding his hands up in front of him as he reached them. Yzako hung back, watching nervously. She could see the prince’s temper flaring up, and the last thing she wanted to deal with was a firefight on the deck as they headed into the thunderstorm looming just ahead.

“Lieutenant!” Zuko snapped, turning towards his crew. He walked up to the taller man, jabbing at his chest with two fingers. “You’d better learn some respect, or I’ll teach it to you.”

“Zuko,” Yzako called, a warning tone to her voice. His eyes shot over to her, and she watched as they narrowed even further than usual. His nostrils were flared angrily, his stance rigid, just like it had been earlier. “Come on. It’s not worth it.”

He looked like he wanted to snap at her just like he had with the lieutenant, but he seemed to think better of it. Instead, he just balled his hands into fists at his sides, stalking towards her.

“What do you know about respect?” the lieutenant shouted after him.

Zuko paused, still looking towards Yzako but clearly focused on the man behind him.

“The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to your esteemed uncle...it shows you know nothing about respect.”

Zuko’s brows were knitted together in anger, his frown only deepening. Yzako wished she could keep his attention on her, but she had to admit, she was somewhat scared of getting too involved with whatever was about to happen. Past the prince, she could see Iroh trying to stop the lieutenant from going any further, but it was all to no avail as he just continued.

“You don’t care about anyone but yourself!” he yelled. “Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?”

Zuko’s lip raised in a snarl, and Yzako couldn’t blame him. The man’s words were sharp and rude, clearly cutting deep, and as she saw Zuko’s head turn, she felt a spike of anger rising in her own chest. If she were the one being addressed like that, she would have already done something about it.

The prince’s back was towards her in a flash, his arms raised and ready to duel. When the lieutenant mimicked him, Iroh again tried to deescalate the situation, his hands held up, palms out.

“Easy now,” he warned as their bracers clanked together.

Yzako could hear the scraping of metal against metal, the friction and added firebending heat causing smoke to rise from their wrists as the two men sneered at each other. It was a fight neither was willing to lose, both stubborn and angry.

“That is enough!” Iroh said sharply, quickly separating them and keeping them at an arm’s length from each other. “We are all a bit tired from being at sea so long.” he tucked his hands into his sleeves, bowing his head. “I’m sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel much better.”

Zuko and the lieutenant stared each other down, the air so tense that Yzako wondered if it wouldn’t be nicer to just dive headfirst into the ocean and swim into the storm on her own. When the lieutenant finally broke eye contact and turned away, Zuko did the same, walking forward to stand near Yzako.

“I don’t need you to keep order on my ship.” he said to his uncle behind them.

When Iroh walked towards them and put a concerned hand on his nephew’s shoulder, Zuko immediately knocked him away with an angry grunt.

“Zuko,” Yzako said, angry at the sight.

“What?” he snapped, turning toward her.

Her face darkened. “I’m just trying to help--”

“I don’t need your help!” he snarled, shouldering past her to stand at the bow.

“Fine!” she shouted after him. “Don’t come running to me next time you want some big blessing before an agni kai!”

He turned towards her quickly. “I’m perfectly fine on my own!”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m sure.”

“I never asked you for anything. I never even asked you to come aboard this ship!” he said. “I would be perfectly fine without you!”

Her eyes widened in angry disbelief. “Oh, is that what you think?”

“It’s not what I think,” he stepped towards her, his expression just short of a tantrum. “It’s what I know.”

“You don’t know anything!” she roared, a low growl sounding in her ears as Kul shook himself awake.

“I know enough!” Zuko retorted.

“I’m sure you do.” Yzako scoffed. “Just like every time you know you’ll capture the avatar. Just like you knew we wouldn’t be headed directly into a storm today.”

His face twisted into something she had never seen before, ugly rage painting it. For a second, she almost thought he was going to try to kill her. Part of her wanted him to, just so that she could react and take out her anger on him.

“You’re nothing.” he sneered, taking a step towards her. His shoulders were heaving with every breath he took, his nostrils flared as sparks of fire flew from the edges of his mouth. “And you will always be nothing.”

She stared at him, her lips pressed together as she practically shook with rage. She was all too aware of the crew and Iroh all still watching her, and as her face grew red with embarrassment and anger, she found herself trying to keep her breaths even. Hot tears pricked at the edges of her eyes, and she was determined not to let anyone see.

No one could see her cry.

It was beginning to feel like a mistake that she had let Zuko see her in any sort of vulnerable state, and in that moment, she felt nothing but anger and shame. She wanted to run, to stay out of sight, to just leave the ship and never see any of them again. His words felt like they were biting her, cutting down to the bone.

Everything was feeling like a mistake; her time aboard the ship, her midnight soirees with him, her constant recurring decisions to disobey the Fire Lord and let Zuko live. He had no idea what she was sacrificing to spend time and keep him alive, and if he was lucky, he would never have to find out.

“You really are just a spoiled prince,” she finally snarled, stamping her foot in an attempt to rid herself of some energy before it turned into something more violent. Sparks flew from her toes as they struck the metal deck, and she saw Zuko’s eyes widen as he jumped back from them. Good. She wanted him to be scared of her. “You will never know what I’ve done to protect you. You only care about yourself, and I should have seen that the second I met you!”

He was beginning to look less angry and more confused now, but she didn’t care. She could hear Kul’s rumbling in her chest, the old dragon siding with her. When she felt a hand on her arm, she immediately stiffened, her head whipping to the side to see a somber Iroh looking at her.

“Yzako, please,” he said quietly, his expression serious. “Find your center. Prince Zuko has spoken out of anger, but his harsh words do not warrant a death sentence.”

She stared into the old man’s eyes, finding him far more solemn than she had ever seen before. As Kul also looked at him, Yzako felt a massive release inside her chest, and she realized just how tightly the dragon’s soul had been coiling around hers. When he finally relaxed, tension left her neck and shoulders, and as she looked back at Zuko, she found herself more annoyed than anything else.

With one angry snort of steam aimed in his direction, she turned her back on the prince. “Stay away from me. I want some of those noodles Iroh mentioned.”

The general let out a loud sigh of relief as he led her away from Zuko. They walked in silence, Yzako refusing to look back at the stupid boy who had just insulted her to the ends of earth. As the argument replayed in her head, she could hardly believe everything he had said; they had their spats, but nothing like that had ever happened before. He was like a child, angry and spitting venom at anything he could. She wanted to tear his stupid head off his stupid shoulders so that he could never do anything like that again.

As Iroh took her to the mess hall to dine with the crew, he finally spoke up. “Forgive the prince.”

“Why should I?” she asked, staring forward at the hall before them.

“The lieutenant upset him deeply. Prince Zuko has had a difficult life that not many know about, and while that does not excuse his words and actions, all I ask is that you find the strength to forgive him.”

Yzako stopped in front of the door. “You don’t have to apologize for him. He said what he said. He meant what he said.”

“He didn’t, I am sure of it.” Iroh sighed and closed his eyes. “He has a foolish tongue, and it has always gotten him in trouble.”

“Well one of these days, he’s going to really cross a line.” she growled, pushing the door open. “And I won’t hold back when he does.”

She walked away from Iroh, leaving him behind as she headed down the stairs towards the cook. Either Iroh had known he would be serving noodles, or someone had managed to tip him off about the old man’s promise in time for him to get some ready, because it wasn’t long before Yzako was sitting down with a hot bowl.

She had never eaten in the mess hall before, and she found herself huddled up in the corner as she waited for her food to cool off. The room was large and dark, lit by fires that the crew sat around as they talked amongst themselves and ate. As they all eventually made their way inside, some drenched by the storm, Yzako realized that she had never watched them interacting with each other in a relaxed environment; they were friendly with each other, some joking, all knowing each other’s names and stations in a way that she didn’t. Folding her legs under herself, she noticed just how alone she felt.

The lieutenant and some of his closest men surrounded a fire near her, and she could hear them talking about the day’s events. At first, she wanted to ignore them, but after a few minutes she realized she couldn’t just drown them out with her thoughts. They were complaining about Zuko, and she couldn’t blame them; she inched closer, hoping that she could find some way to join the conversation and ease her own discomfort with what had transpired.

“Golden Dragon,” one of the other men bowed his head, standing up when he saw her. “We didn’t realize you would be eating with us.”

“N-no, it’s fine,” she said quickly, awkwardly scrambling to her feet. “I wasn’t--”

“Lady Yzako, please,” the lieutenant also stood, holding his hand out towards an empty seat in their circle. “We mean no disrespect. It would be an honor if you joined us.”

Yzako looked around at them uneasily, all too aware of the things the crew as a whole had been saying about her from the moment she set foot on the ship. She didn’t have the best relationship with them, but at least the lieutenant had been relatively good to her.

“Thank you,” she said as she sat down. “I’m sorry about today. Prince Zuko was out of line.”

“He sure as hell was,” one of the other men grumbled.

“I wish I didn’t have to take his shit,” another growled.

Yzako slurped up a mouthful of noodles as she listened to them complain. It was refreshing, having dinner with the crew instead of with Iroh and Zuko. The food wasn’t as finely prepared, but the noodles were savory and delicious, and above all, the conversation was exactly what she needed.

“I’m sick of taking his orders, and I’m tired of chasing his avatar!” the lieutenant said. “I mean, who does Zuko think he is?”

“Do you really want to know?”


	16. The Storm pt II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako and the crew finally find out more about Prince Zuko's past.

“Do you really want to know?” The room fell silent at the sound of Iroh’s voice. He appeared at the top of the stairs, looking down at all of them. 

“G-General Iroh!” the lieutenant jumped to his feet. “We were just--”

“It’s okay,” Iroh interrupted, holding up a hand to silence him. “May I join you?”

“Of course, sir!” 

Iroh found his way to the seat next to Yzako, and he gave her a pointed look as he began to speak. “Try to understand, my nephew is a complicated young man. He has been through much.”

Yzako rolled her eyes, fully aware that Iroh could see her. 

“When he was young, Prince Zuko wanted nothing more than to earn his father’s favor. He wanted to show that he would one day make a capable Fire Lord, and insisted on attending one of his father’s war meetings.”

Yzako looked down at her bowl, remembering the meetings she had sat in on at the palace. They were no place for a child of any kind, just stuffy and ruthless in the most imperialistic sense of the word. Old men, sitting around a long table, choosing which troops would get to die in which locations...looking back, it had been entirely unpleasant. 

“When Prince Zuko learned that a top Fire Nation general was planning on using new recruits as bait for the Earth Kingdom, he couldn’t help but stand and speak out against him. He suggested that the plan was nothing short of betrayal towards the troops who wanted nothing more than to defend their homeland. He was right, you see...but it was not his place to speak out, and there were dire consequences.”

Yzako was beginning to feel sick. She had never heard the story of how Zuko had been banished, but the tone of Iroh’s story was beginning to make her think that this could have something to do with it. Ozai took his war meetings extremely seriously, and the severity of his punishments always ensured that they ran smoothly. No one talked out of turn, no one raised their voices. Anything else would be considered an act of rebellion against the Fire Lord himself. 

“After Zuko’s outburst in the meeting, the Fire Lord became very angry with him.” Iroh continued. “He said that his challenge of the general was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this.”

Yzako’s stomach dropped. 

“Agni kai,” the lieutenant said quietly. 

“That’s right.” Iroh nodded. “Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted, and declared that he was not afraid; but Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the general.”

Yzako’s stomach was churning uncomfortably. She stared into the fire before her as she listened, imagining a young Zuko preparing for the same fight she had seen him in with Zhao. How young was he? Did he even know what he was getting into?

“Zuko had spoken out against the general’s plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord’s war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected. Zuko would have to duel his own father.”

Yzako squeezed her eyes shut. Facing Ozai was a purely terrifying thought, even to her. She had felt the tense air around the Fire Lord enough times to know that he was a powerful opponent, a king coming from a great line of dragon killers and military leaders. The hatred he felt towards his own son was beginning to make more sense to her now, though how he could face a child in an agni kai was something she would never understand. 

“When Zuko saw that it was his father who had come to duel him, he begged for mercy. He refused to fight the Fire Lord, but Ozai insisted that his son learn respect.” Iroh looked down at his lap. “I looked away.”

The men were all silent. 

“I always thought that Prince Zuko was in a training accident…” the lieutenant finally spoke up. 

“It was no accident.” Iroh raised his head again. “After the duel, the Fire Lord said that by refusing to fight, Zuko had shown shameful weakness. As punishment, he was banished and sent to capture the avatar. Only then could he return with his honor.”

“So that’s why he’s so obsessed...capturing the avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal.”

“Things will never return to normal.” Iroh said. “But the important thing is, the avatar gives Zuko hope.”

Yzako had never felt sicker or more anxious in her life. She wanted to vomit. Her hands were trembling as she swallowed back gulps and sobs, her leg bouncing as she desperately looked for a way to calm down. Hope, hope...the avatar gave him hope to return to a father who had ordered his execution. It was a lie, all of it, everything Ozai had promised his son. It wasn’t enough for the Fire Lord to see the terror in the prince’s eyes before he burned his face, no...he wanted Zuko to feel that fear one last time, before his corpse was dragged back home. 

Her bowl clattered to the floor as her shaking grew more violent, her hands covering her mouth as all of her emotions from the day threatened to spill out in the form of horrified tears. She wished she never knew any of this. She wished she had never been invited to the palace. She wished she had the strange comfort of the familiar temple cells, living her life the way she always had. 

“Yzako, are you alright?” she felt a hand on her arm and shook her head quickly. Her eyes were blurry as she stared at the fire. She had never experienced this before, whatever this tangle of feelings was, but it was threatening to consume her then and there. 

“N-No, I--” she was suddenly interrupted by the ship shuddering, violent waves rocking it hard enough to send everyone falling to the floor. 

She jumped to her feet alongside Iroh, looking around wildly. 

“What the hell was that?” the lieutenant asked, heading towards the stairs. 

She followed him, sprinting along. When they reached the deck, they were suddenly hit with a wall of rain and wind, and to her surprise, Yzako saw Zuko already there. 

“Where were we hit?” he yelled over the storm. 

“I don’t know!” the lieutenant yelled back, trying to keep his balance as the ship threatened to capsize. 

Yzako could barely breathe, her mouth filling with rain and seawater whenever she tried to speak. It was nearly pitch dark, massive waves buffeting the damaged ship as lightning flashed above them. 

“Look!” Iroh called. 

She turned to see him pointing up towards the bridge. When lightning lit up the ship, Yzako could see that the metal ladder leading up to the helm was burnt and twisted, and hanging from it was a member of the crew. 

“The helmsman!” Zuko yelled, rushing towards the ladder. The lieutenant followed him, and when Yzako tried to join, Iroh stopped her. 

“I need you down here, Golden Dragon!” he said, his voice urgent. 

She just nodded, and at the sound of the title, Kul roared over the storm. She could feel him beginning to take shape behind her, though the rain was falling straight through his massive wings. 

“We need to redirect any lightning that strikes the ship!” Iroh yelled. 

“What?” Yzako asked in disbelief. “I can’t--I don’t know how!”

“Follow my movements,” her mentor said, falling into a stance similar to the one they had practiced earlier that day. “The Golden Dragon will protect your heart, should any lightning reach you.”

She just nodded, looking up at the sky. She could see distant flashes up in the clouds, and her hair was standing on end when she caught sight of Zuko climbing higher and higher. What if they didn’t make it out of this? What if her last words to him were out of anger? 

She wouldn’t allow that.

“Yzako!” 

She barely had time to register Iroh’s voice before she felt an intense surge of electricity in her left arm, her entire body lighting up with energy. The world around her seemed to move slowly as she felt heat in her chest that was entirely different from her usual fire. Behind her, Kul’s ethereal form was bright white, lightning flashing in his wings as he raised his head towards the clouds. It was arcing down towards him, reaching his snout rather than striking the tower or the men climbing on it. 

Yzako could feel the electricity passing through her, and as she mimicked Iroh in front of her, the surge finally left her right arm and shot away into the air. When she looked back, Kul was roaring towards the clouds, his long whiskers bristling with static as the lightning left his body as well. 

Above them, Zuko caught the slipping helmsman, handing him off to the lieutenant a few rungs below. The man gained his footing, the three of them climbing back down to the deck to join the rest of the crew. Yzako could still feel herself buzzing with energy as everyone around her stared at the massive spirit dragon she was standing with, but with the ship being tossed so violently, no one had any time to speak up. 

“Yzako, Uncle!” Zuko yelled, running towards her. “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

“We’re fine!” Yzako shouted over the wind, even though he was only a few feet from her. “We need to get out of this storm before something else hits us!”

Another flash lit up the sea, and in the distance, Yzako spotted a blurry white shape in the sky. She couldn’t believe that the avatar’s bison was out in this weather, and almost thought that she was seeing things before Zuko yelled out.

“The avatar!”

“What do you want to do, sir?” the lieutenant asked, sounding ready to change course to go after their quarry.

Zuko stared at the sky for a long moment. “Let him go. We need to get this ship to safety.”

“Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm,” Iroh said. 

Kul roared behind them, flapping his wings as lightning struck the water next to the ship. 

“Kul will redirect anything that hits the ship!” Yzako yelled as the dragon stretched his head up again. Her heart was pounding hard, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she turned to face him. He was translucent, but whenever lightning struck his snout or horns, his form seemed to solidify with the energy. 

The crew scattered, no one wanting to get too close to the electrified dragon standing in the middle of the deck. They ran to their stations, trying to prepare the ship to get through whatever they needed to, and only Iroh, Zuko, and the lieutenant stayed. 

When Yzako tried to run towards Kul, she found herself stumbling, her body quickly running out of the energy she needed to help him keep his form. She needed more, she needed something that she could use...then lightning flashed again, and she grinned.

“Yzako, you will hurt yourself!” Iroh shouted. “Stop!”

“I don’t care!” she snarled over her shoulder, reaching out to place her palm against Kul’s chest. She felt herself light up as electricity ran through her entire body, her skin smoking and steaming. She extended her other arm out towards the sea, the lightning rushing out from her fingertips and into the water. 

She would do this as many times as she had to, she told herself. Whatever it took to protect herself, her dragon, and everyone else on the ship. She had endured far worse than a little lightning. 

Time and time again, she felt it strike her, and time and time again, it just narrowly passed by her heart. Was this how Azula felt all the time? It was exhilarating, nothing but pure power constantly entering and leaving her body. As Kul began moving to redirect it, Yzako followed, her movements fluid like a waterbender. 

If she had been born a waterbender…

She remembered how she had used to wish she weren't a firebender, but now...there was nothing else she would rather be. 

Finally, the lightning stopped, the winds died down, and Yzako fell to her knees. She was exhausted, but she had done it. They had done it. She could feel Kul’s snout nudging her shoulder and she smiled, putting a tired hand on his nose before he disappeared into the air again. When she looked around her, she could see that the sun was out, the waters calm as they entered the eye of the storm. 

“I’m sorry.” Zuko and Iroh were standing together, facing the water with their backs to her. She watched as Zuko hung his head next to his uncle, and Iroh put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Your apology is accepted,” she heard him say as he turned from his nephew. “But I am not the only person who deserves one.”

Zuko followed, catching sight of Yzako and squeezing his eyes shut. She just slumped back on her heels. He wasn’t going to apologize, was he? Everything he had said before...he meant it then, and he would always mean it. She was nothing, a nobody, and she didn’t matter to him or to anyone else--

“I’m sorry.” he interrupted her thoughts by rushing towards her and suddenly engulfing her in a tight hug. “Yzako, I am so, so sorry.”

After a moment of surprise, she hugged him back, her fingers gripping the back of his armor as she tucked her head against his neck. She could feel a silent sob wrack his body, and while she wasn’t sure if any tears were pouring down his cheeks, she was sure that he actually, really meant it. 

“Thank you,” she said quietly. 

He pulled back, and she could see that his eyes were wet with more than just rain. “I didn’t mean anything I said. I was angry, I--”

“I know, Zuko.” she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, too.”

“You have nothing to--” he was interrupted by something huge lurching out of the water in front of them, and he immediately grabbed her tighter. The avatar’s flying bison suddenly breached the waves, flying directly over them. It was close enough that Yzako made eye contact with the airbender boy, and his confused, worried eyes flickered between hers and Zuko’s. 

Zuko just stared back, and as Yzako looked up at him, she saw that his face was tired. There were no sparks of anger or spite in his gaze, just the desire to rest and be done with everything that had happened. Now that she had a moment to stop and breathe, Yzako could feel her own exhaustion, and she leaned into him harder. 

“Come on. We should get below deck while we wait out this storm.” he pulled her up to her feet. 

Yzako just nodded, following him past the crew as they stared. She couldn’t be bothered to care. All she wanted was to get into a set of dry clothes and lay down on a comfortable bed, where she would be able to sleep the day’s events away.


	17. An Impossible Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako and Zuko talk about a future life in the palace together.

The days following the storm passed normally. The ship docked to make repairs, and it seemed that, for the moment, Zuko had earned the crew’s respect. He was on good terms with the lieutenant, and as they continued tailing the avatar, their usual lives resumed. Yzako trained with Iroh, and they spent their nights enjoying tea and pai sho with Kul. Zuko joined occasionally, sitting there quietly while his uncle did most of the talking, and as the days went on, he seemed to be calming down. 

Yzako thought he seemed to be meditating more, and she would catch him deep in thought in front of the table in his quarters almost every night. He never mentioned it, so she didn’t ask; besides, she thought it was a good thing that he was reflecting on things. It’s what Iroh always said to do, anyways. 

“You never told me about those,” Yzako said one evening, rolling onto her back and pointing towards the wall. 

“Hm?” Zuko looked up from his table where he had been writing scrolls. From her place on his bed, Yzako’s hand was outstretched in the direction of the dual blades that were mounted on his wall. “Oh. Those.” 

“They must be special, to be displayed like that.”

The prince smiled a little. “Yes. They were given to me by my childhood swordmaster, Piandao.”

Yzako rolled back onto her stomach. “You were trained in weaponry?”

“Of course.”

“Hmph. Figures the prince would be given something else to do besides firebending.”

He glowered at her. “When I was born, the sages told my father that my eyes lacked the usual spark of a firebender. He tried to throw me from the palace, but my mother stopped him. As I grew up, I was weaker than my sister, so while she was given extra firebending lessons, Master Piandao took me on as a student.”

“Oh.” Yzako looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” he sighed and stood. “I don’t exactly go around telling everyone about my past. You know that.”

“Still…”

The bed sank down as he sat next to her. “My father has considered me a failure my entire life, while Azula has been gifted since she was a child.”

“Her fire burns hot, I have to admit.” Yzako took his hand in hers, tracing her nails over his palm. “I still beat her, though.”

Zuko smirked. “Of course you did.”

Yzako smiled. “I don’t think you’re particularly weak.”

“The palace tutors didn’t think I had potential. I was always behind Azula, even though I’m older. My father values strength and dignity, and no matter how hard I tried, I was never better than my sister.” he looked down at her. “That’s why if I manage to capture the avatar for him, he’ll welcome me home as his son again, and restore my honor and claim to the throne.”

Yzako’s smile faded and she shifted her eyes away from his. “You really think it’ll be that simple?”

Zuko frowned. “It’s what he ordered the day he…” he cleared his throat. “The day I was banished.”

Yzako looked back up at him, taking in the gnarled skin of his scarred eye. Ever since Iroh had told the story of the prince’s agni kai, she hadn’t been able to stop staring at it. Should she tell Zuko that his father didn’t want him to come home alive? She wondered about it constantly. She wished that she could say she was hiding it from him to protect him, to let him cling to what little hope he still had, but in all honesty, she couldn’t manage to make herself say the words he needed to hear. She hated keeping secrets from him, especially when he had begun being so much more honest with her. 

“Maybe...it’s better to stay on the move like this.” she said quietly. “Seeing the world, sailing around…”

“What are you afraid of?” Zuko laughed. “I’m bringing you with me. We’ll take the avatar to my father together. He’ll be pleased and restore my honor.”

“And what’ll happen to me?”

He put a hand on her head, stroking her hair. “You’ll live in the palace.”

“And do what?” she asked bitterly. “I’m not a noblewoman. Staying there briefly at the request of the Fire Lord was one thing, but actually living there is...different.”

“Well, what did you do when you were his guest?”

She froze. “I...attended dinners, sat in on meetings, sparred with Azula...I was a guest, not a lady of the court. I didn’t have any kind of social life. Living there full time would be…” she trailed off as she ran out of words to say. What was she supposed to do? Come clean about being sent as an assassin? No way. 

Zuko’s fingers combed through her hair. “You would stay with me.”

Yzako looked up at him. “As what?”

He rolled his eyes. “I would...court you. Properly.”

She couldn’t help but smile. It was an impossible future, with Ozai in charge, but...it was a nice thought. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for that?”

“No one else knows. It’s not like I’m going to walk into the throne room and tell my father that I’ve been fucking the Golden Dragon.” Zuko scoffed. 

“I’m pretty confident that this crew knows by now.”

“You’re just paranoid.” 

“No.” she shook her head. “I had a...discussion with one of the men about it several days ago.”

“What? Who?” Zuko asked angrily.

She shrugged. “I don’t know his name. I haven’t really seen him since.”

“What did he say to you?” the prince snarled.

Yzako was beginning to wonder if bringing it up had been a mistake. “He was just rude. If you see a man with a burnt uniform, you’ll know who it was.”

Zuko’s face was scrunched up in anger, but as he looked down at Yzako, he closed his eyes and sighed. She could take care of herself. She had destroyed an entire temple; she would be fine dealing with one insolent crewman.

Still, he hated it. He knew that every time they spent a night together, the risk of the crew finding out grew. None of them had ever been brave enough to even whisper about it near him the way they did around her, though. He had thought that she was overreacting, but now, he felt bad that he had doubted her. 

He would keep an eye out for the man, he decided.

“I’m sorry I put you in that position.” he said. 

“What?” Yzako sat up. 

He took a sharp breath. “I’m a prince. I’m in charge of this ship. Being around me puts you in full view of everyone. Part of growing up royalty was learning that no matter what I do, someone will always be watching and judging my decisions. I shouldn’t drag you into that life, too.”

“Zuko, stop.” Yzako sighed. “You aren’t dragging me into anything. And I want to spend this time with you. I can handle whatever comes with it.”

He laced his fingers between hers and looked down at their hands. “After we bring the avatar to my father, I’ll court you properly. Start over. Show you all my favorite places in the capital city, buy you the nicest robes, get you whatever you want.”

“Zuko, that’s lovely, but…” she chewed her lip. What could she even say? She hoped that Ozai would see his son’s worth, too, and welcome him home, but...Zuko didn’t know what she knew. “I just...don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Why not?”

“Well...you were banished in the middle of a war. Doesn’t it just seem more complicated than bringing back the avatar and suddenly everything is fine?”

“My father is trying to teach me a lesson. Once I prove to him that I can be trusted, he’ll be proud of me. You’ll see.” Zuko said through narrowed eyes. 

Yzako frowned. She wanted to argue with him, but she didn’t have the strength. She was lucky he even trusted her this much, knowing she worked for the Fire Lord. Telling him more would probably force her to reveal everything. 

She was strong enough to tear down an entire temple, but not to tell the man she was beginning to really like the truth. What was wrong with her? 

“If that’s true, then...let’s just focus on capturing the avatar.” she raised his hand to her face, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. 

He relaxed as he watched her. The feeling of her lips was soft, like always, and as his want for her stirred, he found himself pulling Yzako down onto the bed with him. She was such a mix of polar opposites, even physically; hard and soft, fast and slow, angry and happy. As he ran his hands over her, he could feel powerful muscles set underneath comfortable layers of softness. In many ways, she was built like an earthbender, and when he found himself looking down at her ass and back from above, he appreciated the thickness of her thighs and waist. 

His fingers snaked through her hair, grabbing hold of it close to her scalp and pulling gently. He had been with other girls--of course he had, he was a prince, with his pick of women or men or whomever he pleased--but no one was like Yzako. She was comforting and terrifying, especially when she was naked underneath him. When she got worked up, her body practically glowed, and when she came? Oh, spirits, he had never seen anything like it. 

She was beautiful. There was no denying that. When she flipped over onto her back, his eyes were glued to her face. In a way, he could understand how the crew thought she was a professional lover; the pure erotic rawness of her sounds, her movements, her everything was just too good. It wasn’t that she seemed experienced; shit, he had no idea if she was or not, and he didn’t care. It was more that she was natural, comfortable, free.

Her cheeks flushed, her eyes squeezed close and then snapped open, her mouth let out the filthiest sounds. When she looked up at Zuko, she saw all of him, scar included, and she loved it. His eyes, dark with lust, kept her pinned in place even when his hands were roaming her torso, and when his hair was let down, it was long enough to fall over his shoulder in a way that was anything but proper. Yzako found her hands cupping his face, pulling him down for a hazy kiss as his hips kept rolling into hers, and all her anxious thoughts about their future were forgotten for the moment. She didn’t care what was coming next; she only cared about that moment, where she wasn’t an assassin and he wasn’t a banished prince. They were just there, together, sweaty and tangled up in each other. Just two people, hiding from the world for the night. 

And she was perfectly fine with that.


	18. The Blue Spirit pt I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako gets herself arrested.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all enjoying this fic so far! Honestly it's the longest fanfic I've ever written, and it isn't even 1/4 finished...so please, if there's anything fun you wanna see in upcoming chapters, let me know! Seeing your comments always make me super happy, so please don't be shy <3

Yzako yawned. Spending the day inside with Zuko instead of training on the deck wasn’t exactly exciting, or her idea of fun. He and the lieutenant had been going over maps, plans, courses of action...all kinds of things that she didn’t care about. All the while, Iroh sat and played pai sho with his usual little gang, and all Yzako could do was sit or stand there and watch. 

“We haven’t really been able to pick up the avatar’s trail since the storm,” she heard the lieutenant tell Zuko. “But, if we continue heading northeast--”

He was cut off by the loud creaking of a ship outside, and as a shadow fell over everyone on the bridge, Yzako looked up. There was a massive Fire Nation battleship next to them, and as Yzako rose to her feet, an uneasy feeling rose in her stomach. 

“What do they want?” Zuko asked irritably. 

“Perhaps a sporting game of pai sho,” Iroh said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. 

“I can’t help but doubt that, Iroh,” Yzako folded her arms over her chest. “They wouldn’t be this close unless they wanted to board.”

“We aren’t in Fire Nation waters, but this coast is dotted with colonies,” the lieutenant rolled up the map he had been showing Zuko. “We’re within our rights to sail here.”

“I don’t like this.” Yzako hugged herself. The literal physical looming threat of the Fire Nation navy was right next to her, casting its shadow. She had no idea if she was running from Ozai, or if he was even hunting for her at this point, but she didn’t want to find out.

“Yzako, come sit,” Iroh patted the cushion next to him. “We will wait this out together.”

She shuffled over, sitting and pulling her knees up to her chest. It wasn’t long before officers were aboard Zuko’s ship, and she found herself desperately trying to avoid eye contact. She just faced the pai sho board, acting as normally as possible while she braced herself for whatever it was they wanted. 

The commanding officer faced Zuko, holding up a wanted poster. “The hunt for the avatar has been given prime importance. All information regarding the avatar must be reported directly to Admiral Zhao.”

Yzako blanched. 

“Zhao has been promoted to admiral?” Iroh asked, moving his pai sho piece. “Well, good for him!”

The cook he was playing against sighed dramatically in defeat as Iroh’s piece overtook his. 

“I’ve got nothing to report to Zhao,” Zuko growled. “Now get off my ship and let us pass.”

“Admiral Zhao is not allowing ships in or out of this area,” the officer said. 

“Off my ship!” Zuko snarled.

The man’s free hand curled into a fist. “There’s one more thing.”

He gestured to one of his men, who held up another wanted poster. When Zuko saw it, his face fell, eyes wide. 

“The Fire Lord has issued a warrant for this girl’s arrest. Admiral Zhao has reason to believe you’ve been harboring her on your ship.”

Yzako swallowed hard, keeping her eyes trained on the table in front of her. She couldn’t see the poster. For all she knew, Ozai was searching for an entirely different runaway. There was no guarantee that it was her.

“Get off. My. Ship.” Zuko sneered dangerously. 

The man was silent for a moment. “Have you seen this girl?”

“Go away.”

“She was last spotted leaving a harbor with you.”

“I said leave!”

“You can see it written right here. The Golden Dragon.”

Oh. 

So it was definitely her. Well, at least she knew that she was definitely on the run from the Fire Lord now. The last thing she wanted was to see that pompous asshole Zhao again, especially if he was carting her away to the palace like a hunting trophy. Nope, she was going to just keep her head down and hope that nobody spoke up or gave her away.

Kul’s spirit rumbled a little as he grew active. It felt like he was disagreeing with her. She furrowed her brow slightly as the dragon practically tugged on her, trying to make her stand. Was he trying to get them caught? There was nothing he hated more than the thought of chains, and she had no intention of ever feeling them again.

He gave another tug and she actually leaned forward slightly. What did he want so badly? The dragon was insisting that she...get up and go along with them? Why would he want her to walk directly into the jaws of danger like that? Zhao was trying to capture both her and the avatar, just so that he could gain Ozai’s favor. There was no telling what lengths he would go for either of them. 

“What are the charges?” Iroh asked, moving his lotus tile across the pai sho board. Yzako watched how calmly he slid it to its new place, and she tilted her head slightly.

That was it.

She felt Kul confirming her thoughts, as she realized what he wanted. Zhao had resources that she and Zuko didn’t. He had an entire fleet of ships at his command. If he went to the right amount of effort, he could have the avatar in his custody in a matter of days…

And maybe she should be there to steal him.

“The details are confidential,” Zhao’s man said sternly. “The Fire Lord wants this girl brought in alive.”

Despite all her doubts about what could actually happen if she brought the avatar to Ozai, especially now that she knew he was looking for her and considered her a fugitive, it felt like a much better plan to make sure that Zhao didn’t get to be the one to drag him in. Zuko had been trying for too long to capture that airbender, and Yzako’s hatred for Zhao was winning out over her desire to just be done with the entire hunt.

“Confidential?” Zuko sneered. “Go away, or I’ll--”

“Zuko,” Yzako interrupted him, finally standing. “It’s okay.”

The prince stared at her, his mouth agape as she held her hands out. “Yzako, what are you doing?!”

“This is the right thing,” she said, eyes narrowed slightly. She wanted him to realize that she had a plan, even if she didn’t exactly know what that plan was yet. “Just trust me.”

Zhao’s men scrambled to bind her wrists, grabbing her tightly. As they turned her, she looked down at Iroh, who was stroking his beard. They made eye contact, and she caught him nod slightly, as if he understood what she was up to. 

“Well, whatever it is that the Fire Lord has accused the Golden Dragon of, I am sure it is just a misunderstanding.” he said. “I trust that Admiral Zhao will settle it. Perhaps we should stay nearby, and await further news.”

“Uncle, we can’t just--”

“Zuko,” Yzako interrupted again, twisting her head to look back at him as the men pulled her towards the door. “Trust me. It’s okay.” 

Their eyes met, and he looked just as baffled as he had a moment ago. The lieutenant was standing next to him, equally surprised by how willingly she was going with these soldiers. Everyone in the room just stared, expecting her to do something else. A couple almost looked like they were bracing themselves for a firestorm, but when nothing happened, they all looked at each other uneasily. Something was off about all of this. 

“Yzako!” Zuko yelled, taking a step to follow them as they disappeared through the door and out of sight.

“Wait, Prince Zuko,” the lieutenant held out an arm to stop him. 

“Don’t tell me to wait!”

“I’ve never witnessed the Golden Dragon so calm,” the man said, eyes narrowed. “Have you?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“She’s got something up her sleeve.” 

As the larger ship pulled away from them, Zuko gritted his teeth. “You’re right.”

They both turned back to look at the map they had been studying earlier. “What do we know about Yzako that Zhao and his men don’t?”

“What do you mean, lieutenant?”

“Well...I haven’t heard any dragon rumors at any of the occupied ports we’ve docked at lately. Have you?” 

Zuko’s frown slowly turned into a smirk. He was right; Zhao’s men had all been out of the temple by the time Kul had made his appearance, and news of something like a dragon would have traveled quickly if any of them had seen him. Their own crew had been incredibly good at keeping their mouths shut about Kul the night of the storm, and rarely even spoke about it amongst themselves. He doubted Zhao had any clue as to what was actually about to walk into his compound.

“Excellent!” Iroh exclaimed from the pai sho table. “I take the pot!”

Zuko turned to watch his uncle scooping an armful of winnings toward himself. The old man had figured out Yzako’s plan before the prince had, but he was right; they would stay nearby, and wait for something to happen. As he turned back to stare out the window at the sea, he grimaced. He didn’t want to have to wait for Yzako to get herself out of whatever she was jumping into. He wanted--no, needed--her on the ship with him, no matter what. 

It was that evening that Iroh found him out on the deck practicing his firebending movements. Zuko was too anxious to just sit around and go over charts with the lieutenant, and too restless to try to meditate. As the sun began to set, he finished another set and let out a frustrated yell. 

“Is everything okay?” Iroh asked, approaching him. “It’s been almost an hour and you haven’t given the men an order.”

“I don’t care what they do,” he said. 

“Don’t give up hope.” his uncle sighed. “You can still capture the avatar before Zhao. And Yzako is a powerful, capable fighter with an ancient dragon’s spirit at her side.”

“How can I guarantee either of those things, Uncle?” Zuko turned toward him. “With Zhao’s resources, it’s just a matter of time before he captures the avatar. My honor...my throne...my country…” he turned back to look at the sky. “And Yzako...I could be about to lose them all.”

“Yzako is trusting the Golden Dragon,” Iroh stepped forward, putting a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “We should do the same.”

Zuko looked down at the railing as he gripped it, squeezing his eyes shut. He knew his uncle was right, but he couldn’t just stand by and wait. He needed to be doing something, and he needed to be doing something useful. 

As he cracked his eyes open again, he thought about the twin broadswords on his wall, and the blue mask he kept hidden away. 

\--

As soon as Yzako set foot on Zhao’s ship, her attitude towards the men holding her soured. They were rough, shoving and dragging her around even when she showed no signs of resisting. She was holding herself back, staying in control of her anger and fire even though they didn’t deserve her mercy. If she acted up now, there was a chance she could just kill them all on accident and then never get into Zhao’s base.

They took her down to the brig, sticking her in a cell so that she could wait out the short trip to land. When they finally docked, she found herself being taken to Zhao’s fortress. It was surrounded by high walls, men stationed in watchtowers along it. Inside, there was a large training yard, dotted with archers practicing their aim. The building ahead reeked of Fire Nation architecture, a tall tower raising up into the sky menacingly. It was probably beautiful, Yzako imagined, but the concept of Zhao being in charge of it made her a lot less inclined to appreciate its aesthetics. 

“Watch it!” she snapped at the men holding her arms as they shoved her along through the doors.

“Quiet,” one of them replied. 

“Don’t give us a reason to use force.” the other growled. 

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” As if these idiots were at all prepared to actually handle her. 

They led her to a large room, empty except for two posts in the center that stood several feet apart from each other. As she was pulled between them, Yzako had to stifle a sigh; she recognized the set up, and as she was shackled and the chains were pulled taught, she fell into an all too familiar stance. The chains were heavy, but somehow lighter than the ones she could remember from the sages. Maybe that was a good sign. Maybe escaping when she wanted to would be easier than she was expecting.

She could feel Kul’s presence with her, and it was calming. He had stayed awake for their entire journey to the compound, watching everything carefully, grumbling in Yzako’s ears when he didn’t like what he saw. Even as the men finished tightening her chains and stepped away towards the door, she could feel the dragon right there, keeping her from panicking as he prepared them both to wait until the moment was right to strike.

“Well, well,” an all too familiar voice rang out. “Look who it is. Welcome to Pohuai Stronhold, Golden Dragon.”

She glanced up to see an all too familiar face. “Commander Zhao, what a surprise.”

The man’s expression twisted into a frown as he stood in front of her. “Admiral, actually. But let’s not dally on formalities, Yzako.”

“How much is the Fire Lord offering for me?” she asked, making eye contact with Zhao. “More than the avatar? Less?”

He chuckled, turning to the side to avoid her predatory gaze. “I have to admit, it’s rather amazing how quickly you’ve managed to go from an esteemed guest of the Fire Lord to public enemy number two. It almost makes me curious about what you’ve done.”

She tried to shrug. “Who knows at this point.”

“Don’t get cocky with me,” he sneered, turning back to her. “You tried to make a mockery of me at the temple. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

Her lips quirked up in a grin as she thought about it. She could feel Kul’s amused chuckle run through her, too. “Oh, I could never forget.”

“Quiet!” he snarled, his arm lashing out and sending a wave of fire towards her. 

Yzako squeezed her eyes shut quickly and turned her head to the side, expecting to feel at least a mild burn that would leave her cheeks red. When there was nothing but the cool sensation of the air around her, though, she looked back at Zhao with a smirk. Kul had bended it away, just like she would have been able to if her hands were free. 

“Your fire isn’t hot enough to burn me, Admiral.” she teased. 

His face was darkening with anger. “Quiet!” 

Yzako watched the man’s hands curl into fists at his sides, his teeth bared as he clenched his jaw. She was already getting him all worked up like this? She had thought it would take at least a little more effort. This was practically an accident. She wanted to keep going and see what would happen, her confidence peaking as Kul chuckled in her ears again, but she held herself back. She had to remember that she was there to try to find the avatar--irritating Zhao too much could end with her being dragged to a different room less central to the fortress, or being shipped off to the Fire Lord too quickly to get anything done. 

When she didn’t speak up again, Zhao smirked, satisfied. “That’s better. I would so hate to lose my temper and damage you before you reach the Fire Lord.”

A chill ran down Yzako’s spine and she narrowed her eyes. So, Ozai didn’t just want her alive, he wanted her brought to him in one piece...somehow, that was more threatening than just a death sentence. It gave her the feeling that he had plans for her, and she didn’t like that. At all. 

“No, my job now is to keep you relatively healthy until my flagship is ready to take the two of us to the royal palace. Then, I’ll turn you in, and the Fire Lord will reward me handsomely.” Zhao grinned. “After that, you’ll pay for whatever it is you’ve done, and I’ll go on my merry way, blessed by the Fire Lord’s favor.”

“You sure are obsessed with him,” Yzako mumbled. 

“What was that?” Zhao took a step towards her. “Unlike you, I have a sense of honor and duty to my nation. When the Fire Lord gives me a command, I follow it. I don’t go running around with traitors and avatars.”

Yzako resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You have no idea what my orders were, and you have no idea what I’ve been doing with my time.”

“It isn’t difficult to imagine.” He snorted. “Cozying up with a banished prince doesn’t look good from any angle.”

“Did you really arrest me just to be annoying?” She asked through gritted teeth.

“No, but it’s certainly a welcome break from my usual routine. You’re right, though; I have much more pressing matters to attend to. Tomorrow, you and I will be on our way to the palace, so get some rest while you think about your crimes against the Fire Nation.”


	19. The Blue Spirit pt II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for any typos, I literally just finished this at 3 am and couldn't wait to post it lmao

Yzako didn’t get any rest, nor did she reflect on her crimes against the Fire Nation. Instead, she tried to meditate, practicing her breathing as she waited. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, really, but Kul seemed content to sit there patiently. Yzako had made up her mind that she would escape by morning, with or without any news of the avatar, and as the minutes turned into hours, she was starting to doubt that she was going to see or hear anything about the airbender. 

She spent some time wondering what Zuko was doing. Part of her hated how much she thought about him, and she felt like he shouldn’t live in her head like that so much...but the rest of her was perfectly happy with it. Hopefully he was still nearby and hadn’t gone running after the avatar or something. 

The minutes turned to hours, her arms beginning to ache from the position she was stuck in. Now that she had spent so many months free from any sort of chains, she was wondering how she managed to survive any amount of time bound by them. It was purely uncomfortable, and by the time the door at the end of the room opened, she was ready to just free herself and get out of there. 

She expected to see Zhao, but instead, a group of yuyan archers appeared. They were dragging a body, and as they got closer, Yzako could see a familiar yellow and orange outfit on the limp figure. The avatar had fallen right into her lap, and all she had to do was endure a few hours of discomfort. 

The archers chained the airbender up to one of the posts Yzako was bound to, keeping his arms wrapped tightly so that he couldn’t do any bending once he woke up. He was definitely unconscious, slumping as soon as they backed away towards the door, and Yzako did her best to keep from frowning. She had really been hoping that he would be awake and useful so that she wouldn’t have to drag him out with her, but she would make do somehow.

The archers disappeared again, leaving the two prisoners alone with the guards by the door. The avatar still wasn’t stirring, and Yzako was beginning to wonder what they had done to knock him out cold like that. Would he be awake in an hour? In a day? Ever? Maybe she should try to wake him up, with a cough or messing with her chains or something. 

She cleared her throat loudly, jerking on her restraints. The links clanked against each other, and when she saw that the guards hadn’t reacted, she tried it again. Her eyes were strained to the side, watching the avatar for any sign of movement without outright turning her head. After several more seconds and a small coughing fit, he finally made a noise, and Yzako breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, so at least he wasn’t dead or unresponsive.

“Huh?” he asked, opening his eyes. “What...where am I?!” 

“Shh,” Yzako hissed as the avatar started pulling at his chains. 

“What? Yzako? What are you doing here?”

Before she had a chance to say anything, the door opened, and in walked Admiral Zhao. 

“Well, well, if it isn’t my lucky day!” he said, walking towards the pillar Aang was tied to. “So, this is the great avatar, master of all four elements...I don’t know how you’ve managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over.”

Yzako narrowed her eyes as Zhao drew closer to her, circling them. She could see how delighted he was, his eyes absolutely jovial. She wanted to rip them right out of their sockets. 

“I’ve never hidden from you!” Aang yelled. “Unchain me and I’ll fight you right now!”

“Uh, let me think....no.” Zhao turned his back to them as he finished his circle, looking over his shoulder. “Tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left?” he turned again, leaning down towards Aang. “Do you miss your people?”

The avatar’s face fell. 

“Oh, don’t worry.” Zhao chuckled. “You won’t be killed like they were.”

Aang’s head snapped up again, his teeth clenched angrily. Zhao laughed and straightened up, walking several steps away again.

“See, if you die, you’ll just be reborn, and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search for the avatar all over again. So I’ll keep you alive...but just barely.” he turned away with a smug look on his face as he headed towards the door, satisfied with himself. 

The avatar sucked in a breath, and Yzako watched as Zhao was suddenly thrown forward by a huge gust of wind. The admiral flew to the floor with a loud yell, hitting the far wall before pushing himself up and whipping around towards them angrily. 

“Blow all the air you want!” he snarled, rubbing his head. “Your situation is futile. There is no escaping this fortress, and no one is coming to rescue you. You and the Golden Dragon can enjoy each other’s company while imagine just how miserable your lives are about to become. We set sail for the capital at dawn.”

He motioned for the guards to follow, slamming the heavy metal door shut and leaving Aang and Yzako alone.

“Ugh!” Aang yelled as soon as Zhao had stormed out. “I can’t believe this!”

“You and me both,” Yzako mumbled. 

“Oh,” he looked over at her. “Why are you here? I thought you were working for Prince Zuko…”

“Zhao’s men boarded our ship with a wanted poster of both our faces,” she said. “I got arrested, and it looks like the same happened to you. I’ve been stuck in here all day waiting for you to show up.”

“What? Why? You destroyed the temple with Avatar Roku, you can definitely get out of this place whenever you want without my help!”

“You know I just love to check in with my best friend, Admiral Zhao,” Yzako said sarcastically. “No, I was hoping they’d catch you.”

“So you’re still trying to capture me!” he yelled angrily. “I thought after Appa saved you from plummeting to your death you would have a tiny bit of compassion--”

“Relax,” she interrupted. “My business is my business, but the last thing I want is for some idiot like Zhao to get his hands on you. I mean, can you even imagine how annoying he’d get if he was the one to bring you to Ozai? Spirits, I would never hear the end of it…”

“I bet you wouldn’t,” he said bitterly. “I bet that would be such an inconvenience for all of you, wouldn’t it?”

“You have no idea.” she knew he was upset and trying to take a jab at her, but honestly? The kid was bad at being mean, and she had endured far worse than a rightfully angry monk boy. “All that aside, it’ll be way easier to get out of here if we work together.”

“And then what? You’re just going to try to take me back to Zuko!”

Well...she hadn’t exactly figured that part out, had she? She had wanted to snatch him out from right under Zhao’s stupid nose after they escaped, but she really had no idea how she planned to do that. Still, an avatar that was running wild and free was still better than an avatar under Zhao’s control, so as long as they even got out of the fortress, she would consider it a success. 

“I’ll be honest, I’m making it up as I go along,” she said, shaking her head and shrugging. 

“There’s no way I’m helping you if you’re just going to try to do the exact same thing Zhao is doing,” Aang said stubbornly. 

“Oh yeah? And how are you going to get out of here without my help?” she asked skeptically. 

“I’ll...I’ll....”

“Yeah, thought so.”

“I mean it, though!” he looked over at her with big, pleading eyes, and she could feel some kind of air nomad compromising about to start. “I know we have our differences. You’re a firebender with the spirit of a dead dragon inside you, and I’m the avatar, the guy the Fire Nation is trying to capture so I can’t save the entire world from you.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Not the entire world.”

“Appa saved you at the waterfall. You helped Roku destroy the temple, and you kept Zhao from arresting all of us that day, too. My friends and I let you go back to Zuko out of kindness...so please, let’s work together to get out of here, and then go our separate ways. You can tell Zuko that you lost my trail, and I can go help my sick friends. Everybody leaves happy.”

She had to admit, he was making a lot of sense. “If I let you go today, then we’re even.”

His face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes. Your bison saved my life, so I’ll let you go, even if I have the perfect opportunity to tie you up and take you back to our ship. Deal?”

“Wow, I’m getting really good at this whole negotiating thing,” he grinned. “We’ve got a deal. Now how do we--”

He was interrupted by a loud cheer from outside. Both their heads turned towards the closed door to listen to the roar of a crowd, and Yzako tensed. 

“We are the sons and daughters of fire!” Zhao yelled outside. “The superior element! Until today, only one thing stood in our path to victory--the avatar. I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!”

The troops began chanting. 

“This is the year Sozin’s comet returns to grant us its power!”

Yzako’s eyes widened. She had heard the comet mentioned a few times by the sages, but she hadn’t realized it would be returning so quickly. It was common knowledge amongst firebenders, but no one alive had been around to experience it a hundred years ago, so no one really knew what it could do. Whatever it was had to be big, though, for people like Zhao to be getting to excited about it. She knew that it was integral to the Fire Lord’s plans, and Kul’s wary growl confirmed the uneasy feeling that was rising in her stomach. 

“This is the year the Fire Nation breaks through the walls of Ba Sing Se and burns the city to the ground!”

The crowd was deafening, even through the thick walls separating them from Yzako and the avatar. Through it, though, she could hear Aang speak up. 

“We’d better get out of here,” he said. “Now. Zhao sounds like he means business.”

“Yeah, he does,” Yzako craned her neck, looking around the room. The ceiling was high, no windows offering any means of escape. The metal door was the only way in or out, and there was no telling what kind of guards they might find on the other side. She didn’t particularly want to deal with those archers, either. 

“Let’s just get rid of these chains,” she said, her wrists already heating up. 

“Right,” Aang started struggling.

Yzako felt Kul’s dragon fire coating her skin, the metal on her shackles glowing bright red, then white. She could hear Aang struggling next to her, tugging on his restraints with loud grunts and groans that suddenly turned to distraught cries. 

“Wait, no! Come back!”

“What the hell--” she threw both her arms forward sharply, breaking herself free and stumbling forward as she did the same with her legs. “--are you talking about?”

“The frogs!” Aang yelled. “I need those for my sick friends!”

She stared at the half frozen amphibians that were crawling towards the door, then looked back at the avatar. “I’m not even going to try to ask what that’s about. Now quiet down, before someone outside sounds an alarm!”

Yzako ran over to him, grabbing one of the chains in her hands to melt. 

“Right, but I need--”

She was about to shush him again when she heard the clang of metal against metal and they both froze. There were sounds of a struggle just outside the door before it suddenly went quiet, and for a long moment, the only sounds either of them could hear were their own breathing and a key turning a lock. 

“I hope you’ve got another gust of wind ready,” Yzako whispered as the door creaked open. 

She put herself in front of Aang as he just started struggling again. The second a figure slipped into view, she let out a yell and a blast of fire, steam pouring from her nostrils as she guarded the avatar. The intruder dodged it easily, as if they had known it would be coming, and she sent another after them. They just rolled back towards the door and closed it, pulling a broadsword off of their back and slicing the air in front of them with deadly precision. 

She had to admit that she was frustrated. They weren’t scared of her at all, something she wasn’t really used to when it came to facing down opponents. She always came on with such force that it was easy for her to see fear in their eyes, but this time, she couldn’t see her attacker’s face, and nothing in their body language was suggesting they were the least bit frightened of her. 

It pissed her off. 

“Is that supposed to scare me?” Yzako sneered, taking a step back towards the avatar. She knew practically nothing about swordfighting, and whatever this person was doing seemed a lot like the way one would try to intimidate a wild animal into just running away into the woods. 

She couldn’t really blame them. In a lot of ways, she was just like a wild animal...and the intimidation was working a tiny bit. This was someone who wasn’t put off by her white hot flames, who showed no intention of countering them and might not be a bender at all, and who was clearly very determined to get what they came for. 

Yzako was a bit put off by it all.

The stranger was dressed all in black, like some kind of bandit, a blue spirit mask on their face. Who the hell was this? Who could just sneak into Zhao’s “impenetrable” little fortress with nothing but a sword? Maybe they had seen a wanted poster somewhere and wanted to turn the avatar in. There had to be some sort of reward for him, and bounty hunters all over were bound to be on the lookout.

“Back off!” she snarled as the figure ran towards them. Her back hit Aang’s face as she involuntarily took another step, and she was getting ready to do something fiery and stupid when the bandit pulled out a second, matching broadsword. 

“You’re not scaring anyone!” was her initial stupid thought as the avatar screamed his head off behind her. 

Wow, that’s a really pretty matching set of dual broadswords, was her second one. 

Before she could do anything, the stranger had shouldered her out of the way. She stumbled to the side, making a move to rush back when they raised both their swords and brought them down on Aang’s chains. 

The avatar looked just as surprised as she was, his face covered in confusion as the bandit struck the shackles around his wrists and freed him. He did the same with the ones around Aang’s ankles, calmly turning and sheathing a sword. 

“Who are you?” the airbender asked, following. “What’s going on?”

Yzako stepped up next to Aang as the stranger opened the door and motioned for them to follow. She was still angry, but now that she was catching her breath, she realized that Kul hadn’t helped her one bit. Was the dragon really not concerned for her safety? He felt perfectly at ease, grumbling contentedly in her chest as she walked towards the door. Okay, so she would go along with things for the moment. 

“Are you here to rescue us?” Aang asked, despite the stranger’s silence. 

“We do not need rescuing,” Yzako said as they stepped out into the hall. 

The bandit hesitated, looking over their shoulder. She couldn’t see their face, but she could imagine the exact expression that would be on it. It was a pointed, exasperated, “whatever you say, Golden Dragon,” kind of look. When she pictured it in her head, she saw it on Zuko’s face, scar and all. 

As the stranger and the avatar continued walking, she stopped, thoughts finally starting to run through her head. Kul was calm. This random stranger had been anticipating her moves, knew that the avatar was there, and had skills that were only taught by master swordsmen. 

Swordsmen like Piandao. 

Dual broadswords like the ones hanging in Zuko’s quarters. 

She ran to catch up with them, stepping around bound and gagged soldiers on the floor. There was no way it was him. Right? Why wouldn’t he just tell her if he had been planning on coming after her? No, it was way more likely that this was just some run of the mill bandit, someone after a nice reward. Although…

As she neared them, she found her eyes traveling downwards. The all black outfit was making it hard, and she wasn’t the best judge of body proportions, but she could recognize Zuko’s ass anywhere at this point. After so many days training with him, or watching him train while she lounged with Iroh, or checking out his butt on nights alone with him, she could spot those cheeks from a mile away. 

So Zuko had some kind of double life as a bandit, huh?

Oh, she was so going to use this as leverage the next time she wanted him to spoil her at a market. 

For the moment, though, she was silent, following him through corridors until they reached a sewer grate. They splashed through the murky water, Yzako resisting several urges to squeal in disgust at the feeling of it on her toes. The one time he couldn’t hold it in, Zuko--or the bandit, or whatever--turned and gave her that same look again. 

“What?” she hissed. “I’m barefoot and this is disgusting!”

He made a motion as if he had rolled his eyes and kept going, leaving her to mimic him and follow along. He owed her for this. 

When they reached another sewer grate at the edge of the outside yard, they stopped. Yzako suddenly felt hands around her waist as she was boosted up through the wide bars, scrabbling to pull herself up onto the dirt. She felt a little pinch on her ass and turned to look, but all she saw was the bandit pulling himself up after her and running towards a rope hanging on the fortress wall. 

Okay, there was no way this wasn’t Zuko. 

Aang followed, and just as he was starting to climb an alarm rang out. Zhao must have figured out that they were gone, and Yzako’s heart began pounding even harder than it had been. Was she going to finally get to fight him, for real? She would love to leave the admiral some scars to remember her by. 

“There! On the wall!” someone yelled. 

The rope was suddenly cut, Aang and Zuko both falling several feet. Soldiers were mobilizing, and as her so-called rescuer ran towards the gates with the avatar, Yzako stopped. Maybe she could buy them some time to get out; after all, as long as Kul was feeling peppy, she would have a way to fly out of there like she had the temple. 

“The avatar and the Golden Dragon have escaped! Close all the gates immediately!” she heard Zhao yell. 

“You two go!” Yzako shouted, readying herself as men ran towards her. 

“Yzako!” Aang called. 

“I’ll be fine!” she looked over her shoulder. “I’m the Golden Dragon, remember?”

He nodded, realizing what she meant as he turned back towards Zuko. 

Yzako just looked back to her new opponents and grinned. As she began throwing fire in their direction, she was elated to see that they were reacting properly, screaming and jumping back in fear. Now that’s what men were supposed to do when they were trying to face her down; get scared and fuck off.

After being chained up for so long, she was glad to get the chance to move again, and as Kul’s fiery breath joined hers, her motions were strong and fluid. She burned up armor and spears, grabbing soldiers and tossing them with a strength that could only be coming from the dragon inside her. 

“Stop her!” she heard Zhao yell from his spot above the yard. “The Golden Dragon cannot escape!”

Another group of soldiers tried to surrounded her, but they all went down after one wide sweeping kick. Her training with Iroh was really starting to pay off, she realized; none of these men could hope to keep up with her. Their own academy training was no match for someone who had studied with dragons. 

“Hey, Zhao!” she yelled as the last man fell. “What are you gonna tell Ozai about all this?”

She could see him gripping the railing angrily. “Do whatever it takes to bring her down, just leave her alive!”

She smirked. Yeah, right. 

With a glance over her shoulder, he saw that Zuko and Aang had made it on top of the wall and were running along it, cutting down the ladders that Zhao’s men were trying to put up. Yzako ran towards them, breathing out a jet of fire at a group who scattered as they saw her coming. Good. She was enjoying this game. 

That was, until an arrow suddenly flew into her arm. 

She let out a shriek that was more draconic than human as she stumbled forward. The thrill of the fight kept it from exploding in pain, but it still hurt, and she turned around absolutely infuriated. There were yuyan archers stationed around the fortress, and as her chest heaved, she searchd for the closest one. Her anger was mounting, and she fully intended to break someone over her knee for the absolute audacity of shooting her. 

Another arrow came soaring towards her and she barely dodged it, rolling to the side as another wave of soldiers bore down on her. Yzako was furious, clawing and burning anyone who got close enough, and as the crowd thickened, she heard a deafening roar. It seemed like Kul was furious, too. She could see the glow of his ethereal form out of the corner of her eye, and Zhao’s surviving men stumbled away in shock and fear as the dragon stood over her. 

“What’s the matter?” she shouted as Kul breathed a stream of fire that lit the ground in front of them ablaze. “Come back and fight me!”

The wall of fire suddenly parted and Zhao stepped through. “Well, well, this is the true strength of the Golden Dragon.”

Yzako grinned. “Finally facing me?”

He smirked. “If I didn’t have such strict orders, I would be going down in history as the first firebender to kill an already dead dragon.”

“Too bad killing you won’t make me go down in history for anything,” Yzako sneered. “Nobody will even care about the irritating Fire Nation admiral who couldn’t beat a silly little dragon girl.”

The look on Zhao’s face filled her with absolute delight, even as he began throwing fiery punches and kicks at her. She and Kul just circled him, the dragon’s long body curling around them as hot flames poured from his jaws. 

Zhao was forced to get defensive, trying to simply survive the onslaught and bend the fire away. Yzako paused to watch, hoping she would get to catch a glimpse of his face melting off or something, and as he put up a hand to try to throw the flames away, he let out a satisfying yell of pain. His fingers were purple, and bound to scar and blister if he made it out alive. 

“Having fun yet?” Yzako asked as Kul’s jaws closed and he straightened up. 

Zhao looked at her with disgust and fury painted across his face. As he opened his mouth, he looked past her and shouted, “Hold your fire! The avatar must be captured alive!”

Yzako followed his eyes and turned to see that a group of soldiers had cornered her companions, Aang protecting the two of them with a huge bubble of air. As Zhao walked right past her, she took the opportunity to grab a handful of Kul’s mane, hauling herself up onto his neck and climbing just behind his head. 

They were ready to take off into the sky at any moment, watching as Zuko heard Zhao’s words and held both his blades up to Aang’s throat. The admiral stopped, his unburned hand clenched in a fist. 

“Open the gates,” he growled. 

“Admiral?” someone asked. 

“Let them out. Now!”

As the gates parted, Zuko backed his way through them, dragging Aang along as a hostage. Kul pumped his wings a few times and took off, flying out of the fortress after the boys and leaving an angry Zhao to nurse his burnt hand and grit his teeth.   
“How could you let them go?” an officer asked, watching the dragon disappear into the night just as the avatar and his captor continued backing down the road. 

“A situation like this requires...precision,” Zhao said, a deadly smirk crawling onto his face. 

In the sky, he could see the dragon circling slowly, staying above the avatar and the thief but never landing. It had to be afraid of the archers that it knew were still standing on the wall, eagerly awaiting orders to shoot something. When Zhao made his way up to them, trying to ignore the pain in his hand for the moment, he was more than happy to give them that order. 

“Do you have a clear shot?” he asked. 

The yuyan archer at his side just closed their eye in affirmation. 

“Knock out the thief. I’ll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the avatar. The dragon will stay with them.”

“How do you know?” the correspondent standing behind him asked.

“Oh, just a lucky feeling,” Zhao said through narrowed eyes. Yzako was sticking close to this mysterious bandit, and he could only think of one other person who wanted to capture the avatar badly enough to break into a fortress guarded by yuyan archers.   
An arrow whistled through the air with deadly accuracy, striking the thief in the mask and sending him to the ground. Good. Zhao would be setting sail with not one, not two, but three bounties to present to the Fire Lord. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of reward he would be getting from such a successful night. A burnt hand was practically nothing in comparison, and he wasn’t even angry about it now that he was practically guaranteed all the military glory and might he could ever want.

Yzako heard the arrow hit Zuko and she screamed, Kul roaring in alarm as he dove. When they landed, the avatar was throwing up a massive dust cloud around himself, hiding them from sight and buying them some time before Zhao’s men came after them. She jumped off of Kul’s neck, running towards the man laying on the ground. Aang was pulling his mask off, and as he did, he suddenly scrambled back in shock. As she reached him, he leapt to his feet, his eyes wide with fear as he sprinted several steps away. 

“Aang, what are you--” Yzako came to a stop and looked down. She saw a scarred face, and that was all she needed to know. “Zuko, oh no...shit…”

She sank to her knees, putting a hand on his chest as she turned his head. He was still breathing, and she could feel his heart beating. At this point, she didn’t care if Aang ran off or not; she just wanted to get her prince to safety. 

“Are you going to help or are you leaving?” she asked, grabbing Zuko’s arm and trying to pull him up. 

Aang watched her for a moment. “Yzako, wait!”

“What?” she snapped, before grunting loudly in pain at the feeling of the forgotten arrow still sticking out of her. She dropped Zuko’s arm, clutching her own as blood seeped through her sleeve. The adrenaline was finally wearing off, and the pain was throbbing more and more with each breath she took. “C-come on, help me get him on Kul’s back.”

“No!” 

“Then leave!”

“No, I mean,” he ran back to her. “Kul is too noticeable. They’ll be able to shoot us down once this dust clears. Just grab onto me, and I’ll use airbending to get us out of here.”

She glanced back at Kul and the dragon just nodded, his form fading again. Aang scooped Zuko up as much as he could, Yzako holding the prince’s legs as a rush of air was suddenly propelling them forward. Then, somewhere along the way, she finally blacked out.


	20. Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako and Zuko get back to the ship to nurse their wounds.

“Come along, Yzako,” the Great Sage tugged her along, holding her hand. “Let’s find our rooms for the night.”

“But I wanna see the gardens!” she protested, her little ten year old feet digging into the ground. “Please? I’ve never visited the palace!”

The sage looked down at her and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. You deserve this chance to see the palace grounds. After this, you’ll be living at the sages’ temple to begin your training, and the Fire Lord has granted us permission to enjoy our short stay here.”

Yzako barely paid attention to his words. All she cared about was seeing the fancy gardens she had heard about back home. The whole palace was big, but people in her village talked about how nice and pretty the royal gardens were, and she was finally getting the opportunity to walk through them in person!

“Look!” she pointed at the pond ahead of them, tugging the sage along with her. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She was unbridled, full of far too much energy. He was not looking forward to breaking her in the coming years. 

Yzako let go of his hand and ran to the water, giggling happily at the sight of turtleducks swimming around. They were making cute little noises as they swam in circles, a few coming up to see if she had any food to offer them. She sat on her knees, excited to play with them and enjoy a day in the gardens.

“Yzako!” the sage said sternly, hurrying to catch up with her. “Stand up at once!”

“What?” she looked up at him but obeyed. “Why?”

“You must carry yourself with dignity,” he snapped. “Brush yourself off. The Fire Lord and his children are just across the courtyard.”

The Fire Lord? Yzako craned her neck to look. She saw a tall man surrounded by other adults, a few kids her age standing nearby. She caught sight of a boy and three girls, all wearing the nice clothing of Fire Nation nobility. She wanted to go meet them, and she followed the Great Sage eagerly as he approached the group. 

“Fire Lord Ozai,” he said, bowing lowly. He nudged Yzako to follow, but she just looked around confused. 

As the tall man turned towards them, she found herself staring up at him. She wasn’t afraid, just curious about everything she saw. He had long heavy robes on, pointy armor atop his shoulders and a big shiny crown held in place by a nice pin through his topknot. He looked down at her, his hands in his sleeves as he regarded the small girl who didn’t even think to bow to the most powerful man in the world. 

“Ah, you must be Yzako!” an older man next to him said. He was much kinder, his hair and beard gray. “We have heard much about you from the Great Sage.”

She liked how round and friendly his face looked as he smiled down at her. She wanted to keep talking to him, but the Fire Lord interrupted before she could say anything else. 

“It is an honor to have the Golden Dragon visiting my home,” he said coldly. “I trust you will enjoy your time here before you return to the temple to begin your training.”

“Y-yes sir,” she stammered, shrinking under his gaze. 

“Come, Yzako,” the Great Sage said, ushering her away with another bow to the Fire Lord. “We will see you this evening, my lord.”

As Yzako turned away, she caught sight of the children. They were watching her, especially the boy, and as her eyes met his, she was struck by how sad he looked. How could anyone be sad in such a pretty garden? She didn’t understand what could be making him so unhappy. If the sage hadn’t been yanking her along with him, she would have stopped to ask what was wrong. 

“What a shame you turned out this way,” she heard Ozai’s voice ringing in her ears as the garden faded from her mind. “Unable to kill a simple prince. Pathetic.”

\--

“You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?” Aang asked from his spot on top of a large tree root. “I miss all the friends I used to hang out with.”

Zuko just groaned as he began waking up. Cracking his eyes open, he saw tree branches above him. Glancing to his side, he saw Yzako curled up next to him, her chest rising and falling as she slept. At least she was okay. They were all alive, it seemed. 

“Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us would get in and out of so much trouble together.” the avatar continued. “He was one of the best friends I ever had.”

Zuko turned his head to look up at the airbender. He was huddled up, hugging his knees to his chest. So, he had seen Zuko’s face. He knew who it was that had rescued him from Zhao. If it hadn’t been for that stupid yuyan archer, Zuko and Yzako would already be back on their ship, possibly with the avatar in tow...but, based on what he could remember, he suddenly owed a life debt to the bald monk. 

“He was from the Fire Nation, just like you,” Aang said, looking at Zuko. “If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?”

Zuko considered it for a moment. A hundred years ago, his great grandfather was starting a war and wiping out the Air Nomads. He would still have been a royal, confined to the palace, and Aang would still have been the avatar. He doubted anything would change. Besides, none of that mattered now; that was the past, and this was the present. There was no sense in wishing that things had happened differently.

Nothing could ever change the past. 

Yzako stirred next to him, and before Zuko really had a chance to think, he was on his feet and sending a massive flame towards the avatar. He wanted him gone. He didn’t want to have to think about difficult topics when he needed to be getting Yzako to safety. 

The airbender disappeared into the trees, effectively scared off. As Yzako’s eyes fluttered open, she focused on Zuko, and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

“Yeah, me too,” she mumbled as she started to push herself up. Her arm suddenly gave out and she let out a cry of pain, falling back into the leaves. 

Zuko’s eyes widened in alarm, taking in the sight of an arrow still sticking out of her flesh. Of course the avatar hadn’t done anything to dress the wound. The useless boy had just laid them both down in the dirt and told stupid stories about his own life. Still, he had managed to save them, and Zuko doubted he actually had any kind of medical training. 

That being said, neither did Zuko. 

“We need to at least break this arrow so it’s less noticeable,” he said, leaning towards her.

“Wait, won’t that--” she let out a loud yell as he snapped it, the tip still lodged in her arm. “Fuck!”

“I’m sorry!” Zuko apologized, tossing the arrow away. He hated hearing her scream like that. “We need to get back to the ship. Come on.”

He helped her up, grabbing his things before squatting so that she could get on his back. She just stared at him. He knew she was shot in the arm, right? Her legs were perfectly fine. She wasn’t utterly helpless.

“Zuko, I can walk,” she said with an air of annoyance, stepping around him and stumbling. 

“Come on, jelly legs,” Zuko growled. “Just let me carry you.”

“Fine,” she snapped, face red with embarrassment. “But don’t tell anyone I couldn’t walk back on my own.” She climbed on and clung to him like a hogmonkey.

He rolled his eyes. “I promise, Yzako.”

She humphed and leaned her chin on his shoulder as he broke into a light jog. The sun was peeking through the trees, birds chirping as the day began. They must have been unconscious all night...Zhao’s men were bound to be searching the woods around them, and Yzako wasn’t too eager to meet the sharp ends of anymore arrows. Now that she was more awake, the pain was getting harder and harder to ignore, and any time Zuko stepped particularly forcefully, she grunted in discomfort. 

“Zhao didn’t do anything to you, did he?” the prince asked, trying to distract her as he felt her bury her nose into his neck. 

“No,” she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Tell me what happened.”

“He came in and gloated. Tried to act tough and important. The usual.” she adjusted her grip on Zuko’s chest and winced. “I was planning on just leaving before morning if the avatar never showed up, but I guess I got lucky.”

“You got yourself arrested to try to catch the avatar?” Zuko asked.

“Yeah. It could have worked, too. Probably. I wasn’t really counting on either of us getting knocked out.”

“Me neither.” Zuko slowed to a walk. He was waiting for her to ask him about the Blue Spirit, but as they continued on, she never brought it up. Maybe she was too out of it, or maybe she just didn’t have the energy, but either way, he was glad he wouldn’t have to explain himself yet. He wasn’t sure how she would react if they actually sat down to talk about it. 

He finally set her down when they reached the shore, and she waited as he pulled the cutter boat out from its hiding place in some bushes. Yzako watched as the prince pulled his armor out, changing out of his black clothing and hiding it in a pack along with his broadswords and mask. Then, they set sail back to the ship, finally reaching it as the morning sun was rising high into the sky. 

“Where have you been, Prince Zuko?” Iroh greeted as they tiredly made their way across the deck. He was sitting with his tsungi horn, the ruby-eyed monkey statue he had bought from the pirates next to him. “You missed music night! Lieutenant Jee sang a stirring love song.”

“Make sure Yzako is taken care of,” Zuko said tiredly as he walked away towards his quarters. “I’m going to bed. No disturbances.”

Iroh watched his nephew go with a quizzical expression before he turned his attention to Yzako. “What happened? Did Admiral Zhao clear your name?”

“Not exactly,” she turned to show him her arm. 

“Is that an arrow?” he jumped to his feet. “Come, come! We need to get you to the infirmary!”

“...we have a doctor on board?” she asked as she followed him.

“No, but we have me!” Iroh said over his shoulder with a wide grin. 

A few minutes later, Yzako was biting down on a piece of leather as Iroh pulled the tip of the arrow out of her muscle. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at the bloody metal he had just yanked from her flesh. All she wanted was to go curl up in her bed and get some actual rest. 

“This was a yuyan arrow,” she heard him say. 

“Zhao has them stationed at Pohuai,” Yzako said around the leather. 

“They are a deadly and elite force. For Zhao to have control of them means that the Fire Lord trusts him with Pohuai Fortress indefinitely.” Iroh grabbed a roll of bandages. “What is he doing there, I wonder?”

“Hunting for the avatar,” Yzako spat out the leather as Iroh began bandaging her. 

“Did you see him?”

“Yes. We escaped together.”

“But you let him go?”

“He...saved my life back at the waterfall, and then again when Zhao’s men were after us last night. I felt like I owed it to him.”

Iroh just nodded, tying off the bandage and sitting back. “That is most admirable of you, Yzako.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.” she grumbled. 

“What about Prince Zuko?”

Yzako paused. Was she supposed to tell Iroh of his nephew’s new alter ego? If Zuko had wanted him to know, he probably would have already said something. Maybe it was better to stay vague, and let them have their own conversation about it later.   
“I blacked out as we were fleeing the fortress. When I woke up, the avatar was gone, and Zuko was there to take me back to the cutter.” she looked down at her bandaged arm. “I figured he had been out all night searching for me after I got out.”

Iroh seemed satisfied with that answer. “Well, we should all be glad that no more harm was done.”

“I’m wanted by the Fire Nation now,” Yzako said. “I don’t really consider that a success.”

“Heading north will keep us far out of any Fire Nation waters for the time being,” the old man stroked his beard thoughtfully. “With any luck, there are no wanted posters in any of the colonies nearby. Stay away from military outposts, and I should think things will be fine.”

Yzako sighed. “Yeah.”

“You are tired, Yzako,” Iroh said, standing up. “It is time for you to rest. We will keep an eye on your wound, and resume light training as you heal.”

She nodded, following him to the door. “Thank you, Iroh.”

“Of course,” he bowed to her and she did the same before trudging out into the hall. 

As she passed Zuko’s door, she paused. She wanted to go in and see him, maybe curl up at his side and sleep, but he had said he didn’t want to be disturbed...did that include her? With a small shake of her head, she kept walking. After all they had already been through, she still didn’t know where she stood with him. What were they? Were they anything at all? 

She stripped out of her clothes and slipped under her sheets, not bothering to try to wash any of the dirt and sweat off herself. Her body was aching, but her mind was still wide awake as she wondered about Zuko. Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe she was a bad judge of character, or social interactions; after all, the past several weeks she had spent on the ship were filled with the most human contact she had in almost a decade. She wasn’t exactly an expert on how people worked. 

Still, the sex had to mean something. The late night talks, the sleepy morning kisses, the constantly saving each other’s lives...those weren’t things you just did with anyone. Zuko had even said he wanted to court her when they made it back to the capital, if that ever happened. But what did that make them now?

She jumped at the sound of the door opening, eyes snapping open as she beheld a certain scarred prince slipping into the room. He was shirtless, wearing only the loose pants he liked to sleep in, and after he closed the door, he just stood there for a moment.

“Zuko?” Yzako asked, trying to prompt him to do literally anything. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said quietly, like a nervous child telling his parents he had just had a nightmare. 

“Then come here,” Yzako scooted to the side. 

Zuko obeyed, joining her under the covers and immediately wrapping an arm around her. “Is your arm okay?”

“It will be,” she answered tiredly. “Just sore.”

“You shouldn’t have even gotten hurt.” he blurted out. 

“I was trying to kill everyone in that compound. Honestly, I think it’s kind of fair that someone tried to stop me.”

“No,” he sounded frustrated with himself. “I should have done better and gotten you out sooner.”

“It isn’t your fault, Zuko. Someone gave the order to take the shot, and someone took it. I’ll be fine.”

He grunted, and then fell quiet for another long moment. “I didn’t want you or the avatar to find out it was me.”

“And how would you have managed that?” Yzako snorted. “I’ll admit, I didn’t know at first. I thought you were just some bounty hunter who heard Zhao had the avatar.”

“When did you figure it out?”

“I got pissed when you weren’t scared of me, and then I realized there’s only a few people who won’t budge when I’m trying to intimidate them. Unfortunately, they’re pretty much all either you or related to you.”

He laughed a little, kissing her neck. “I’ve seen you act way scarier than that.”

“I know. You were also dodging way too well.”

“How does that give me away? Any well trained thief would be able to do that.”

“It just made me suspicious. And then...well, your outfit was pretty form fitting…”

“Excuse me?”

“...I’d know that butt anywhere.”

Zuko had to push himself up on his elbow. “Are you serious right now?”

“What?” she looked back over her shoulder at him. “I’d say I’m an expert on it at this point.”

“You really discovered my identity because of my ass?”

“Well, those looks you gave me helped a little, too...but yes, mostly your ass.”

“What looks? You couldn’t even see my face!”

“You did that thing you do!” she couldn’t help but laugh as she saw him give her the exact exasperated look she was talking about. “See? There it is!”

“You’re ridiculous,” he chuckled. 

“Yeah, well, I seem to recall you pinching me at one point. That was also a dead giveaway.”

“What? I wanted a reminder.”

“A reminder?”

“Of how nice this is.” 

She squeaked in surprise as she felt him squeeze a handful of her ass. “Well...thanks, I guess.”

“If I wasn’t so tired, I would appreciate it for real.”

Yzako laid back down against her pillow with a smile. “Yeah, me too.”

Zuko tightened his grip on her, his chest pressed up against her bare back. The contact made them both relax, and soon, the only sounds filling the room were their slow, heavy breaths, and Yzako’s occasional snoring.


	21. Hot Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a steamy little chapter for everyone who's been wanting more smut!

The first few days of Yzako’s healing, Iroh refused to let her do more than simple exercises. She tried to insist that she could at least practice kicks, but the old man just shook his head before breaking into the songs he was practicing for the next music night. As a result, she had to sit there with him, frustrated, as she watched Zuko training with the men. She hated it. He was allowed to have fun, working up a sweat every day while she just scowled. It wasn’t fair that she had so much energy and no outlet for it.

So, she found other ways to get her blood pumping. 

“Prince Zuko,” she purred one night as he entered his quarters. 

He paused at the sight of her lounging on his bed, surprised but definitely not upset to find that she had snuck in while he was up on the bridge giving orders to Lieutenant Jee. Kicking the door shut, he walked towards her with a wolfish grin on his face, his hands already unbuckling his armor. He pulled his shirt off, stopping to admire the view he had before pulling his boots off and making his way over to her. 

“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise?” he said, crawling over her. “Already naked and waiting for me…you must have been bored today.”

“I was,” she rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how frustrating it is to just sit there and watch everyone else having fun.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Training in the heat is considered fun?”

“Well, it is when I’m full of energy and can’t do anything about it.”

“Then let’s find a way to do something about it,” Zuko smirked, his fingers running up her thighs. 

“Get on your back,” Yzako’s eyes were glimmering with mischief, and Zuko obeyed eagerly, switching their positions. 

She pressed her lips against his jaw, her hands snaking down his chest. A trail of kisses followed until her mouth reached his waistband, where she left a sharp bite mark on his pelvis before straightening up to untie his pants. He laid with his hands comfortably behind his head, lounging as he watched her palming him through the fabric. He was already hard, just from the sight of her, but the feeling of her hands on him made his cock absolutely strain against his pants.

She finally freed him from his clothing, licking her lips as she looked down at him. He was oozing precum already, and Yzako was more than happy to lean down and swipe her tongue over it. Zuko let out a low groan at the sensation of her mouth on him, so wet and warm that he couldn’t help rocking his hips against her. Her head bobbed up and down, taking in more and more of his cock each time until her nose was hitting his groin and drool was running down her chin. 

“Fuck,” he moaned, running his fingers through her hair before grabbing a fistful and pulling gently. 

She looked up at him with big golden eyes, one hand around the base of his cock while the other held his hip. Her nails dug into his skin, making him moan and hiss and just roll into her face harder. She was driving him crazy as her tongue swept up and down his shaft, spit running down over his balls anytime she took him deeper into her throat and he felt her gag slightly. Fuck, she was perfect. 

Yzako closed her eyes again, savoring the taste of precum whenever she licked the head of his cock. She loved hearing his low moans and grunts, smiling around him as he swore under his breath and whispered her name whenever her tongue swept over the sensitive tip. He was a mess, breathing heavy, face flush with arousal. He wasn’t going to last much longer at this rate, but he wasn’t about to just cum without feeling the warmth of her pussy. Zuko’s fingers tugged at her hair, pulling her head up until a string of drool was all that connected her mouth and the head of his dick. 

“I want you,” he said, his eyes dark and his breathing ragged. “Come here.”

Yzako’s heart skipped a beat at the look he was giving her. His expression was hungry, his hands commanding as he grabbed her waist and pulled her up. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on his face, hands gripping fruitlessly at the wall as his tongue found her clit. His fingers were pressing into her thighs hard enough to leave bruises, holding her in place as her hips rocked and shuddered against him. 

“Z-Zuko!” she gasped when he gently nipped at her clit. 

He just moaned against her, his tongue dipping between her folds before sucking at her clit again. Yzako was panting, rolling her hips over his face, desperate for more and more friction as she felt pleasure building in her core. She couldn’t help but bite her lip smile, arching her back as she got closer and closer. Zuko was always happy to stay down there and enjoy the taste of her before he pounced and satisfied himself. She was delicious, and as he eagerly licked and sucked at her, his hands gripped her hips harder and harder, reminding Yzako just how strong the prince really was. 

She came with a loud sigh, her brow furrowed and mouth agape. The prince groaned beneath her, licking up her cum before pushing her hips back and grinning up at her. She smiled at him, trying to catch her breath as she scooted down to straddle his hips. Zuko was licking his lips, that wild look still in his eyes, and Yzako felt her stomach twisting all over again. She was more than ready to take his cock inside of her now, her pussy swollen from all the attention it had just gotten. 

Zuko flipped them again, pressing a harsh kiss against her lips. She returned it greedily, legs wrapping around his waist. “Please, Zuko...please fuck me…”

He happily obliged, holding her tightly as he pushed himself into her. They both let out moans, lips finding each other's necks as he slowly began thrusting in and out. When Zuko pushed himself up with his arms on either side of Yzako’s head, she found herself staring at his handsome face, a thin sheen of sweat shining in the candlelight. He was handsome, utterly beautiful, honey colored eyes glinting as he sped up and pounded into her. 

The room was filled with grunts and gasps, the smell of burning fabric curling into the air as both firebenders warmed up. Zuko blew steam into Yzako’s face, and she returned it with a happy grin. Her fingers were leaving red marks behind on his back as her nails dug into his skin, mild burns that he barely even felt as he focused on thrusting in and out of her. The air around them was heating up, nearly hot enough for their sweat to evaporate into it. 

Their moans and gasps echoed around the room, loud even when they tried to muffle their own voices by burying their faces against each other’s necks or silencing each other with kisses. If anyone passing by in the hall happened to stop and listen at the door, they would hear the quiet, carnal sounds of two lovers enjoying their night together. Luckily, everyone knew to stay away from the prince’s quarters, and unless there was an emergency, Zuko and Yzako would remain safe and unbothered.

One of Zuko’s hands let go of Yzako, sliding down her belly to play with her clit. He wanted to make her cum again, desperate to feel her squeezing and spasming around him. She let out a sound somewhere between a squeal and a sigh, her nails digging into his back as the new stimulation threatened to overwhelm her. 

“Fuck!” she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut and whimpering. Zuko only grinned, pressing a kiss against her shoulder and speeding up with his thrusts.

She was so warm around him, her core growing hotter and hotter by the second. If he didn’t know better, he would be afraid of his dick being burnt off...which, honestly, wasn’t something he would put past her. For the moment, though, she was comfortably hot, and as she squirmed and whimpered beneath him, he found himself grabbing at her collar bone with his teeth and lips. He wanted to leave her another deep red mark, something so that everyone could know she was his. 

The mild pain made Yzako’s back arch up, her eyes open as she gasped loudly. She was getting closer and closer to her release, and as Zuko sank his teeth into her, she finally came with a cry. Her breaths were sharp and fast, and as her pussy squeezed him, he let go of her skin to press his forehead against hers. He managed to pull himself out of her just in time to cum on her stomach, breathing hard as he tried to catch his breath. 

He looked down at Yzako, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she came down from her high. Her hair was wild, sweat prickling her brow. She closed her eyes, stretching her arms out behind her head as her lips broke into a satisfied smile. She looked like her appetite was sated...for the moment. 

“You’re amazing,” Zuko said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. 

She pressed a kiss against his cheek as he was pulling away. “So are you, my prince.”

He felt arousal stirring inside him at the sound of his title. “Keep talking like that and we’re going to have to go again…”

“Like what, Prince Zuko?” she smirked, pulling him down for a real kiss this time.

He happily obliged, biting at her lip before wrapping his arms around her and rolling onto his back. Yzako’s energy was never ending, it seemed, but Zuko was more than happy to continue on through the night until they were both sweaty, exhausted messes. When Yzako was finally content, curling up at his side, the prince just watched her for a while as she drifted off to sleep. She was something, all right; thinking back to when he had first met her, it was a little hard to believe where they were right in that moment. 

She had been so rigid around him a few months ago, barely speaking, maintaining a back breaking amount of composure. It reminded him of how it felt to grow up in the palace, and while part of him missed that feeling, he was beginning to realize how much he preferred the freedom and looseness of their relationship now. It wasn’t strict, or demanding; it was just...them. 

As he settled down in his usual spot next to her with his arm around her waist, Zuko felt at peace. When he was with Yzako, in one of their beds, he felt slightly less angry and desperate to capture the avatar. The world seemed to slow down finally, giving him a chance to catch up with it. He felt relaxed with her, to the point where he could let his guard down and simply...be. 

He still needed to find the avatar. More than anything, what he wanted now was a comfortable, happy life with Yzako back home in the palace. He wanted to sit in on his father’s war meetings and prove that he had learned more than just a lesson during his banishment. Sailing the world had changed him, both for better and for worse, and all he needed now was the chance to show the Fire Lord that he was more than capable of taking the throne one day. 

With Yzako at his side, of course. 

She wasn’t of noble birth, but his mother hadn’t been, either...and as crown prince, once his title was established again and he was welcomed home, no one would question his choices. Being in charge of this ship had taught him more about ruling than he had learned his entire life, and his years at sea had hardened him. He wasn’t the frightened child staring up at his father, begging for forgiveness during their agni kai. He was a prince, blessed by an ancient dragon, whose fire burned hotter than it ever had before. Ozai would see that, even if Zuko had to force him to. 

Then, when his father accepted him...his life would be easy. Simple. Comfortable. No more cold nights on the ship, no more wishing things had gone differently. He would retake his place at his father’s side, prove his worth, and eventually rule the Fire Nation. He would study war, continue training with his uncle, and fall asleep next to Yzako every night, in a lush, extravagant bed that put this one to shame. 

He would make sure that she wanted for nothing, and that she and her dragon had the run of the palace. Ozai wouldn’t bother her. Azula wouldn’t bother her. In Zuko’s perfect future, everyone would get along, enjoying the luxuries of the royal palace, dining together, overseeing festivals and doing everything else that came along with being royalty. 

He had no idea why his father had tried to have Yzako arrested, and at that moment, he honestly didn’t care. The fact that Zhao was the one who had tried to haul her away led him to believe it was just some old grudge from the admiral who clearly wasn’t a fan of Yzako, rather than anything serious. He still didn’t know what she had initially been ordered to do when he had met her in that shipyard, but his suspicion was that his father had sent her after the avatar when Zuko had failed to capture him for so long. It made sense; the avatar was the only person who could really defeat his father, and it seemed like now, everyone was after the last airbender. 

Zuko was nearly positive that was all it was; nothing more, nothing less. He had no reason to ever suspect the truth, and Yzako gave absolutely no hints as to what her actual mission had been. So, Zuko just lay there next to her, dreaming of his perfect life, absolutely content for the time being, and absolutely none the wiser about what was actually going on around him.


	22. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako discovers her new favorite drink, and Zuko hires a bounty hunter.

“Prince Zuko appears tense,” Iroh remarked one day. He and Yzako were relaxing on the deck, watching Zuko yell orders. The crew was scrambling around him, trying to do their jobs as they sailed toward a port in order to refuel and grab more supplies. The old man was right, too; Zuko seemed like he was in one of his infamously bad moods, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he angrily looked around at his men. 

“He does,” Yzako frowned, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand as she followed Iroh’s gaze. She had finally begun training again, her arm healing quickly thanks to Kul’s help. The dragon had been using much of his unearthly strength to fix her wound, impressing everyone who stopped to look at Yzako’s mended flesh. The Fire Nation didn’t have healers like the Water Tribes did, and short of cauterizing wounds with their bending, they relied on doctors who could use more standard medicinal practices. Arrow injuries had the potential to be serious if they got infected, but for Yzako, it seemed like it had just been an inconvenience more than anything else. 

Iroh had reluctantly allowed her to exercise like normal when she proved that the only lingering effects from her wound were a couple scars, and she was happier than ever to be training at dawn before the sun got too hot. Now, in the heat of the day, they were both resting under Iroh’s umbrella, the sea around them calm as they headed towards port. 

“Perhaps he needs a break,” Iroh said, standing. “Prince Zuko!”

“What?” Zuko snapped, turning to look at his uncle. “I’m busy, uncle!”

Yzako got up, following Iroh as he walked over to his nephew. “You’re all worked up, Zuko. Take a break.”

His nostrils flared angrily, like they always did when he came close to throwing tantrums, but he thought better of challenging her and just blew a little puff of smoke out instead. “The crew isn’t moving fast enough.”

“We are nearly to the docks, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said. “Look, I can even see them now!”

“Exactly, uncle! This needs to be a quick stop. We have no idea where the avatar is, and we don’t have any time to waste!”

“Come below deck with us and have some tea,” Iroh said, putting a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “The crew can handle things on their own. Lieutenant Jee is more than capable of refueling here. You should take a moment to relax.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Several minutes later, as the ship was docking, the three of them were sitting at the table, Iroh pouring fresh tea. The room was calm, candles flickering beneath the new gilded dragon head that hung on the wall. Zuko had relaxed slightly, his face less angry while his shoulders remained tense. 

Iroh sipped his tea, smiling contentedly at the taste. “Ahhh...see, Prince Zuko? A moment of quiet is good for your mental wellbeing.”

He reached across the table with the teapot, pouring some into Zuko’s cup. Just as the prince was about to raise it to his lips and take a drink, much like Yzako was doing next to him, an impact on the deck above them rocked the ship. 

Zuko let out an angry yell, hot tea splashing his face. Yzako barely managed to avoid the same fate, soaking the front of her shirt instead but still making a sound of displeasure. Zuko wiped his face clean and sprang to his feet, stomping towards the door, and it was clear that Iroh’s attempt at getting him to rest for a moment wasn’t about to work today. 

Yzako and Iroh followed the prince, running upstairs just in time to see a massive beast sniffing its way across the deck. It had no eyes, its nose shaped like a pink star, and it swung its head from side to side as it inhaled the scents around it. It was fitted with a saddle, its rider holding onto reins that connected with a thick leather collar around the creature’s neck. 

“Get back!” the woman in the saddle yelled. “We’re after a stowaway!”

“There are no stowaways on my ship!” Zuko snarled, backing up towards the crew as they stood and stared at the intruder. 

Ignoring him, the beast ran forward, suddenly plunging its head down and biting a hole in the deck with its huge teeth. It threw the scrap of metal towards the crew, Yzako and Zuko ducking with surprised yells as it soared over their heads. What even was this thing? Yzako had never seen or heard of anything like it before, but whatever it was, it seemed like it was doing its job well...though she was finding it hard to believe that someone had managed to sneak onto the ship. 

It reached in, sniffing around the cargo hold and reappearing a few moments later as a man in Earth Kingdom clothing crawled out. 

Huh. So, Yzako was wrong; it was suddenly all too easy to believe that someone had snuck onboard. 

The man tried to run, stumbling over himself as he sprinted towards the rail. The creature followed, bounding along in huge strides as a long, barbed tongue shot out of its mouth and whipped its target’s neck. The man suddenly fell, his entire body frozen as he rolled to a stop near Yzako and Zuko’s feet. 

“He’s...paralyzed,” Zuko said, voice tinted with disbelief.

The woman slid out of her saddle, landing in front of her bounty. “Only temporarily.” she pulled the man up by the front of his shirt before throwing him over her shoulder. “The toxins wear off in about an hour...but by then, he’ll be in jail, and I’ll have my money.” She turned back towards her beast. 

“But how did you find him on my ship?” Zuko asked.

She turned, one foot hooked into a stirrup on the creature’s girth. “My shirshu can smell a rat a continent away.”

“Well, I’m impressed,” Iroh commented. The woman cracked a whip, and the shirshu took off, jumping from the ship and onto the docks easily before running away towards town. “...Very impressed.”

Zuko gave his uncle a disgruntled look. “Great. Now we’re behind schedule and we have to make repairs.”

“Then it would appear we are going to be docked here for the night!” Iroh said. “We might as well enjoy our time as best we can.”

The prince looked like he was using all his strength not to yell at his uncle. Instead, he turned towards the crew. “Start getting this deck repaired. Now!”

They all scattered, some going below deck to check the extent of the damage, a few running off towards the docks. The upside to a metal ship was that most of the repairs could be done with firebending, and it seemed like they would be able to just weld the torn deck back together...but, it still took several men to even begin dragging the huge piece back to its place. It seemed like Iroh was right, and they would be stuck there for the night. 

“I’ve never seen an animal like that,” Yzako remarked, walking towards the rail to look towards the town the shirshu had disappeared into. 

“I haven’t, and I don’t care.” Zuko said angrily. 

“How did a stowaway even get on this ship?”

“I don’t know!” 

She turned to him, an irritated look on her face. “We need to have better security. We can’t just let anyone wander onboard.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to--”

“Zuko,” she interrupted with a growl. He was getting worked up again, his teeth bared in a snarl. “Don’t get angry at me.”

He glared down at her for a long moment before breaking eye contact. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“We haven’t seen or heard anything relating to the avatar in days. We’re losing his trail.” Zuko narrowed his eyes and looked out towards the small town. “Someone else could have found him by now.”

“He’s hard to catch. Zhao only managed it because he was so close by anyways, and if it weren’t for the yuyan archers, there would have been no way.” Yzako said. “You’re the only other one who’s managed to follow him for this long. Give yourself more credit.”

Zuko glanced at her in surprise. “That’s some high praise, Yzako.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” her lips quirked up in a small smile, and Zuko resisted the urge to lean down and kiss them. 

“She was gorgeous, wasn’t she?” they both turned to see Iroh standing there, fanning himself. 

“Uncle, don’t be gross,” Zuko wrinkled his nose. 

“He isn’t wrong,” Yzako said. The woman on the shirshu was strong, rude, and good at her job, not to mention pretty attractive. “I’ve got a half a mind to go find her.”

Zuko’s expression went through about five different emotions, from surprise to anger to more surprise, and Iroh just laughed loudly. “See? Yzako agrees!”

Yzako grinned at the prince’s face. “Wanna go into town? We can buy me some things, go track down this mysterious bounty hunter who just wrecked the ship, eat our weight in Earth Kingdom food...”

“My pockets aren’t bottomless,” Zuko growled, folding his arms over his chest. “I can’t buy you expensive things at every single port--”

“Nonsense, Prince Zuko! Your fortune, plus mine?” Iroh reached into his sleeve, pulling out a small coin purse. “There is more than enough to buy the Golden Dragon some pretty things everywhere we dock.”

Yzako snatched the purse eagerly, weighing it in her hand. Iroh was a generous donor, for sure. She could only imagine what it could be like to go shopping with him in the Fire Nation capital and not one of these little seaside towns. An extravagant afternoon at the shops, with the crown prince and Dragon of the West? It sounded like a dream. 

Zuko just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I’m staying here to make sure these repairs get done quickly. Go have fun, Yzako.”

“I will remain here as well,” Iroh tucked his hands back into his sleeves and smiled. “I am sure I can be of some help to the crew.” 

She shrugged, turning to leave. “Fine by me.”

“Be careful!” Iroh called as she made her way to the gangplank. “Stay away from strange men! And watch out for soldiers who want to arrest you!”

“I got it, Iroh!” she yelled over her shoulder. 

She practically ran down the pier. Yzako hadn’t had a day alone to explore a town in...well, ever, honestly. She walked along, barefoot, dressed in Fire Nation colors and attracting the stares of some shopkeepers. She was disappointed to see that there wasn’t much in the way of fine silks or jewelry, but she supposed she had enough of that hidden away in her quarters for the moment and she might survive without a new outfit or set of rings. 

What this town did seem to have, though, was stall after stall of savory, delicious food, just waiting for her to sample. The chef onboard Zuko’s ship typically served then Fire Nation delicacies, as did the cooks in the palace back when Yzako stayed there, but everything she was finding now was Earth Kingdom street food the likes of which she had never seen before. She sank her teeth into roast duck legs, slurped up ramen, and even got her hands on a variety of simple wagashi desserts. The sellers all assured her that she would fall in love with their food, even though they weren’t as fancy as the versions sold in Ba Sing Se, but Yzako had nothing to compare them to besides Fire Nation foods anyways. 

Nothing was very spicy, more savory than anything else, and it was foreign and delicious to her. By the time she was finally full, it was late afternoon, and as she wandered through town, she eventually found herself standing before an unfamiliar building, with a very familiar creature tied up outside. 

The bounty hunter’s shirshu was napping just outside the front door to a bar, next to a few ostrich horses that were doing their best to stay as far away from the big beast as possible. Yzako smirked to herself as she walked in, but the scene before her wasn’t like anything she had ever experienced before. 

The bar was crowded, full of men drinking and fighting and arm wrestling. They sat at tables that dotted the room, cheering and clinking their tankards together, their voices all joining together to create one massive sheet of white noise. A few serving girls walked around with trays of drinks or food, and Yzako soon found herself slipping through the crowd to sit at the bar.

“You’re a new face,” the bartender commented, leaning towards her. He was wearing a brown tunic and pants, a thin mustache dotting his lip. “Come in on a ship or somethin’?”

“Sure did,” Yzako said, trying to act natural. She had never been surrounded by such chaos, and so many men throwing chairs at each other. 

“Well, what’re you havin’?”

“...Something strong.” Yzako really didn’t know much about alcohol, past the plum wine she had tasted in the palace during dinners with Ozai and Azula. In such a rough bar, though, she was determined to seem like she belonged, and admitting that she had no clue how normal people went about their recreational drinking wasn’t on her agenda. 

“I’ve got just the thing,” the bartender winked, bending down to grab a bottle from under the bar. “...If you can pay, of course.”

“Just show me what you have.”

“Sorghum liquor,” the man grinned, showing her the bottle. “Straight from the Fire Nation. Hard to come by in the Earth Kingdom these days, even in the colonies.”

“Give me that, then.” Yzako nodded.

“You sure, girl? It packs a punch.”

“I’m sure.” she narrowed her eyes in irritation. 

The man just laughed, pouring her a cup and sliding it across the bar to her. “First sip’s on the house. See if you can handle it.”

She rolled her eyes, grabbing the cup. “If the first sip’s on the house, does that mean this one’s free if I drink it all at once?”

“I doubt you can, but I’d sure like to see you try!” his laughter just grew louder. 

If there was one thing Yzako hated, it was being told she couldn’t do something. With an indignant grunt, she raised the cup to her lips, ignoring the burning as she gulped the liquor down as quickly as possible. When she slammed the empty cup back down on the bar, desperately trying not to cough or clear her throat, the bartender looked impressed, and she smirked. 

“Well, I stand corrected,” he muttered. “You’ve got balls, girl. What’s your name?”

“My name?” she asked, pausing as she tried not to think about how awful the drink was. She couldn’t just say her own name out loud in a bar full of bounty hunters, could she? “It’s...uh…”

“It’s okay, you can tell me.” the bartender poured her another cup. “Look around you! Everyone here is either runnin’ from the law, or about to be. You’re among friends.”

Friends. Sure. 

“...Shi.” Yzako said after racking her brain for vaguely Earth Kingdom-sounding names. “My name is Shi.”

“Well, Shi, name’s Jo.” the bartender poured himself a cup, then raised it to her. 

She mimicked him, grinning as they clinked them together and both drank. It was significantly less awful the second time around, burning in a much less terrible way as it made its way down her throat. 

“You need anythin’ at all, you just let me know,” Jo said, nodding to Yzako before making his way down the bar to some men who were throwing coins towards him and demanding drinks. 

“Right,” she said under her breath before turning to look around the rest of the room. 

She couldn’t spot the bounty hunter anywhere, but more and more dockworkers and sailors were entering the building as the sun started to go down, crowding the already crowded bar. It was impossible to pick any one person out, but as Jo came back and Yzako flashed a few coins at him, she had a shot at finding out more about the mysterious woman. 

“What do you need, doll?” he asked, pulling out the bottle of sorghum again.

“When I walked in, I saw that shirshu outside…”

“Ahhh.” he smiled as he poured her drink. “It’s a rare beast, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen one before,” Yzako said, sliding the coins across the table and taking her drink, a handsome tip accompanying the cost of her beverage. “Who owns it?”

Jo scooped up the gold quickly, eyeing the Fire Nation currency for a moment before shoving them in his pocket. “Oh, that’s June. She’s usually over there, arm wrestling the boys for cash.” He nodded off towards the far end of the room. 

Yzako pulled out another few coins. “What else do you know about her?”

“She’s a bounty hunter. So was her father. That’s how she got the shirshu...best in the Earth Kingdom, too. That thing can hunt down anything or anyone it catches a sniff of. You looking for someone?”

“I might be.” Yzako looked out towards the crowd, wishing she could spot the woman. “I had a run in with her earlier and I’ve been wondering about it ever since.”

Jo laughed. “Yeah, sounds right. June always gets the job done, no matter what.” he held up a few of the coins she had given him. “Got enough of these, and she’ll track a target to the end of the world and have it back to you before you know it. Never seen anyone better, and a lot of bounty hunters come and go through here.”

“Makes sense,” Yzako said absentmindedly. 

The bartender saw her starting to let her guard down and leaned his elbow on the bar. This could be his chance to figure out what this girl with a pouch full of Fire Nation money was doing in his tavern. “What about you? Sure you just came in on a ship?”

“Yep.”

“You work on one? You don’t seem like a sailor. No offense, Shi.”

“I’m not,” she batted her lashes, taking a drink. She wasn’t nearly as tipsy as he seemed to think she was, but she was quick enough to see that he was trying to figure her out. “Why? What do I look like to you?”

“Oh, I dunno…” he seemed to be legitimately stumped as he thought it over. “Spose these coins could’ve come from a colony…”

“They did.” she lied easily. “I grew up in a Fire Nation colony not too far from here. Why do you think I can handle this drink so well?”

“Well, you’ve certainly got the eyes of a firebender.”

She paused for a second. “The colonies are all a mix of people from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. You should know that.”

“I do,” he turned, grabbing a rag to clean off the bar. “You’ve already tipped me in more gold than most of these men spend in a night.”

“So?”

“So, it makes me wonder what exactly you get up to in order to earn that kind of pay.”

She had to hide a small laugh as she realized where his mind was going. “Oh, you’re wondering about my job?”

He nodded hesitantly. 

Yzako leaned in, as if she were telling him a secret. “Don’t you see this fancy gold collar around my neck? Can’t you guess that I work for someone very important?”

Jo seemed a bit stunned, stepping back. “W-who?”

“Who do you think?”

“...some ship captain, or a very rich man…”

“Something like that.”

“Jo? Are you bothering this young lady?”

Yzako turned at the sound of a familiar voice. There she was, standing right before her: the bounty hunter from Zuko’s ship. She looked exactly the same as she had earlier, in her same black dress and her long hair hanging down. June had a hand on her hip, holding out an empty mug, a smile on her lips as she looked between the two of them.

“Didn’t expect to find you here. That guy earlier seemed pretty pompous.”

Yzako regained her composure and shrugged. “He can be. Not much for me to do while they repaired the ship, though.”

June laughed and placed her mug on the bar. “At least you tell it like it is. Jo, gimme whatever she’s drinking.”

“You sure? She’s been having straight sorghum all night.”

“Ooh, so you’re tough.” June rolled her eyes. “I said give it to me, Jo.”

“Yeah, yeah. You two are going to drink me dry.” he filled her mug up anyways. “This isn’t easy to come by, you know!”

“It is for Fire Nation soldiers. Isn’t it?” June turned towards Yzako, holding her drink out. 

Yzako returned the gesture, and they both drank. They watched each other, Yzako finishing hers much quicker due to the smaller size of her cup, and by the time June was done, she was thoroughly impressed that the woman had downed the entire mug like that. She wasn’t a firebender, that much she was sure of; she might not have even been a bender at all, based on the way she let her shirshu and her whip take care of everything. The fact that she could enjoy such strong liquor without already having a fire in her belly to absorb it wasn’t anything to just shrug off. 

“You’re not wrong.” Yzako said when June had put her empty mug down on the bar. “It’s a Fire Nation drink, but not one I’ve ever had.”

“Hmph. Then you’re just sheltered.” 

“You could say that.”

“June, be careful,” Jo said nervously. “She works for--”

“For a rich looking brat,” June said with a cruel smile. “I had the pleasure of meeting him earlier. Jo, give us a refill and then we’ll be out of your hair for a while. I’ve got a good feeling about our new friend, here. Oh, and give her a bigger serving, will ya? You’re being a total cheapskate with those little cups.”

Yzako didn’t take her eyes off of June as Jo quickly poured their drinks. The bounty hunter was incredibly calm, totally confident in herself as she just smiled back at her. When the bartender was finished, June tossed a few coins at him and led Yzako away to a table off in the corner. The two wound their way through the crowd, dodging punches and chairs as men brawled with each other. 

“So, why are you really here?” June asked, sitting down and putting her feet up on the table. 

Yzako leaned against the wall, propping her own bare feet up on the empty chair next to her. “I had a day to do nothing. The crew had to repair the ship after your shirshu ripped it up, so I wandered town sampling food.”

June snorted. “Come on, you’ve gotta be more interesting than that. What did you tell Jo your name was?”

“Shi.”

“And what’s your real name?”

“It’s Shi,” Yzako said, irritated. 

“Oh, come on.” June rolled her eyes. “We both know that’s a quick little fake name you made up on the spot. You sailed in on a Fire Nation ship, flying Fire Nation colors, crawling with Fire Nation soldiers...don’t try to give me an Earth Kingdom name unless you’re absolutely sure it’s real.”

Yzako let out an angry little puff of smoke from her nostrils. June was too good at figuring her out. “You’re a bounty hunter. Why would I trust you?”

“Good point!” June laughed. “You’re a firebender, though. I’d be careful about that if I were you. A lot of folks around here won’t take too kindly to that.”

“Whatever.” Yzako snorted, taking another drink. 

“So what’s with that guy you were traveling with? He your boyfriend or something?”

“...Or something, I guess.”

“Ooh, relationship troubles? Or...lemme guess. Based on that collar around your neck, you work for him, don’t you? Is that why you ran off to the bar to have a little fun away from that stuffy ship?” 

Yzako glared at her. “You know, I was willing to sit down with you and chat, but not if you’re going to be annoying the entire time.”

“Okay, okay! Jeez, that guy got your panties in a twist or something?”

Yzako slammed her drink down on the table, following it up with her elbow. “I know your type. You have to either prove yourself to people, or be beaten physically. Since I can’t take you out back and just burn you to a crisp in an agni kai, I’m willing to arm wrestle you just to show that I’m as tough or tougher than you are. Deal?”

June’s smile widened into a grin. “Oh, now you’re speaking my language, girlie.”

She put her elbow down across from Yzako’s, and the two clasped hands. “I win, and you lay off me. Maybe you even tell me what I wanna know.”

“And if I win, you tell me everything about you and that bald ponytail guy you’re sailing with,” June said. 

“Deal.”

“Deal.”

Yzako’s muscles immediately tightened as she gripped June’s hand, grasping it tightly as she pressed against her. She had expected this to be much easier, considering how she trained every single day and also had an entire (currently useless) dragon living inside of her, but June was putting up a fight. The bounty hunter’s eyes were narrowed, her teeth bared as she struggled against Yzako, and the firebender got a little surge of confidence. At least she was putting up a good fight. 

“Hey, fellas! June might lose this one!” a man nearby yelled. Suddenly, the women were surrounded by cheering men, and Yzako was getting the feeling that June never, ever lost at arm wrestling. 

“Give up, princess!” June snarled. 

“What, getting desperate?” Yzako smirked, trying to hide how much her arm was shaking. They were locked, shoving against each other evenly. 

“No!”

“Me neither.”

June was getting increasingly angrier, and Yzako was holding out. Okay, so it seemed like all of her training had been paying off, after all. She didn’t even need Kul’s help to win this one. With a toothy grin, and a little grunt of effort, she slammed June’s hand down against the table, leaving the bounty hunter speechless as the bar patrons around them cheered. 

June’s face quickly turned from anger to respect. “Well, I’m pleasantly surprised, princess.”

“I’m not a princess,” Yzako said, letting go of June’s hand to pick up her mug. 

“You’re the only person to beat June in months!” a large man behind her said. 

She yelped as she was suddenly pulled to her feet and then up onto his shoulders. June just laughed, leaning back and drinking as she watched them parade her around. Yeah, whoever that girl was, she was strong. She was no “Shi from the colonies.” She had no idea who she really was, but she was a powerful firebender, traveling with some kind of rich boy. June didn’t really care about the details, but she had a feeling she would be hearing more from them soon.


	23. Bounty Hunting

“Come on, Uncle!” Zuko snarled, marching up the hill. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Iroh answered, hiking up his robe and running after his nephew. 

It was night, and Yzako hadn’t returned to the ship. The repairs were finished and they could have set sail...except neither Zuko nor the crew were willing to leave without their golden girl. So, naturally, the prince had set off to go find her, Iroh in tow. They glanced around the town, but seeing as everything was closed, the obvious answer was that she had found her way into the bar. 

When they spotted the shirshu sitting outside, both firebenders paused. 

“Uncle...she would be helpful,” Zuko said. 

“Who? That fetching bounty hunter?” his uncle asked. “Yes, I agree!”

“She owes us for the damage she did to my ship,” the prince growled. “Now she’s going to help us find the avatar for free in return.”

As they walked up towards the door, they were both startled by a loud yell followed by a man landing in a heap near them. Looking up, Zuko could see a hole in the roof that he had gone sailing through. So it was this kind of bar, was it? Of course Yzako would end up in a rough tavern full of barbaric earthbenders.

What he didn’t expect was to see her sitting at a table next to the bounty hunter woman, both of them arm wrestling men three times their size. There were piles of coins sitting before them, a crowd of bar patrons cheering them on. Zuko just stood there in the doorway for a moment, a look of surprise on his face as Yzako slammed her opponent’s hand into the table hard enough to break something. He couldn’t tell whether the crunch he heard was from the man’s bones, or if it was from the table...and he also couldn’t tell whether he was scared or aroused. 

“Well, she looks like she’s having some much-needed fun!” Iroh laughed as the cheering swelled to a roar.

Shaking his head, the prince stomped forward through the crowd, pushing men out of his path angrily. “Out of my way, filth!”

“He means no offense!” Iroh said, walking after his disgruntled nephew. “I’m certain you bathe regularly!”

“Zuko!” Yzako exclaimed at the sight of him. She was dragging a pile of gold coins across the table towards herself, the man she defeated nursing his mangled hand and crawling away. “Come join, this is easy!”

“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding irritated. “You never came back to the ship!”

“What? I lost track of time!” she held her mug out to him. “They have a few bottles of sorghum here and since I keep winning, I get to keep drinking!”

“Ah, sorghum liquor! I have not enjoyed that in many years, but I recall it can pack quite the punch.” Iroh laughed loudly. “Prince Zuko, perhaps we should indulge--”

“We’re not here to indulge, uncle!” Zuko snarled. 

“Well, well. If it isn’t a couple more of my new friends.” June said from her spot next to Yzako. She was still locked in battle with her arm wrestling opponent, a massive man in a white tunic who was already shaking with effort. “Angry Boy and Uncle Lazy.”  
Iroh’s laughter just grew even louder at the nicknames. Zuko looked like he was going to explode. 

June let out a loud grunt of effort and sent her foe’s hand straight into the table, earning deafening cheers and cries from the crowd. Coins were raining down as they tossed them, obviously all betting on the two girls, and June began scooping them up much like Yzako had just a moment earlier. 

“Your beast trashed my ship,” Zuko growled. “You have to pay me back!”

“Ah, well, I’d love to help you out, but I’m a little short on money.” June said. “Drinks on me!”

When even Yzako cheered, Zuko shot her a look. “Don’t encourage this!”

“What? June is fun!” she retorted. 

“Your girl’s right,” June smirked, raising her mug to her lips to take a drink. “Besides, as you can see, I just spent all my hard-earned cash.”

Before she could take a sip, Zuko’s hand was on her wrist. “Money isn’t what I had in mind.”

June rolled her eyes. “Fine, grouchypants. I’ll help out...but only because this one beat me at my own game.” she jerked her thumb towards Yzako, who just nodded enthusiastically. “Come on. My shirshu is outside.” 

“Are you drunk?” Zuko hissed at her as they followed June out of the bar. 

“I don’t know,” she said, a tipsy grin on her face. “Am I? I’ve never gotten drunk before.”

“How much sorghum did you drink?”

“A few...five? I lost track.” she was carrying her winnings in her arms, a trail of coins dropping behind her. 

“Here, let me take that,” Iroh stopped her, procuring a large pouch from inside his sleeve. Yzako stopped, sloppily pouring her money into it before seizing the bag in her arms and continuing on her merry way. 

“I can’t believe you wandered off to go get drunk and arm wrestle with commoners,” Zuko wrinkled his nose. 

“Why not? You told me to go have fun!”

“This isn’t what I--”

“Hey, lovebirds!” June interrupted, coming to a halt next to the shirshu. “Are you gonna keep wasting my time? Because I have some drinks to get back to.”

“I need you to find someone.” Zuko pulled something from his belt and held it out. Yzako recognized it as the Water Tribe girl’s necklace. 

“What happened, one of your other girlfriends ran off on you?” June asked, leaning against the shirshu. 

“It’s not the girl I’m after.” Zuko narrowed his eyes, pulling the necklace back towards his chest. “It’s the bald monk she’s traveling with.”

“Whatever you say.”

“If you find them, I’ll consider the damage to my ship paid for.”

June let out a laugh as she started to climb up into the shirshu’s saddle. “Forget it.”

“Plus we’ll pay your weight in gold!” Iroh piped up. 

The bounty hunter paused before jumping back down and turning towards them. “Make it your weight, and we’ve got a deal.”

Iroh positively bellowed with laughter. “You got it!”

“Get on!” June ordered, snatching the necklace from Zuko and carrying it to the shirshu’s nose. 

“You’d better not be drunk enough to fall off,” Zuko growled as Yzako walked past him to grip the straps hanging from the saddle. 

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said, nose in the air. She pulled herself up effortlessly, tying her bag of gold down next to her leg. 

Iroh got on in front of her, still chuckling to himself, and Zuko climbed up to sit behind Yzako. Even with a grimace on his face, he immediately put an arm around her waist as the shirshu’s head suddenly shot up. 

“He’s got their trail!” June yelled, jumping on in front of the three of them and grabbing the reins just in time. The beast snarled loudly before leaping forward, taking off at an incredible speed down the narrow road out of town. It ran with massive strides, lurching so dramatically that Zuko began to feel nauseous; when Yzako showed no signs of emptying her stomach over the side, he finally had to admit to himself that she wasn’t very drunk, after all. 

They rode in silence through the night, startling birds and small animals as they traveled through the forest. The only sounds worth listening to were the shirshu’s heavy steps, and before long, Yzako was slumping back against Zuko to take a nap. With both June and his uncle staring forward, the prince dared to give Yzako their usual goodnight kiss, pressing his lips against the top of her head. How she managed to get any sleep while the shirshu lurched beneath them he had no idea, but he wasn’t about to question it. 

As the sun began peeking up, the treeline finally broke to reveal a more substantial road. It led to a settlement of some kind, and as they neared it, Yzako finally began waking up again. She felt more rested than ever, stretching her arms back to hook them around Zuko’s neck as she took in their surroundings. The shirshu was still running, but it was slowing down as they neared an old woman by the side of the road. 

“Out for a bit of fresh air, are we?” she asked as the party came to a stop next to her. 

“We’re looking for someone!” Zuko called down to her. 

“I hope it’s not Miyuki!” the woman looked down at the white cat next to her. “Miyuki, did you get in trouble with the Fire Nation again?”

The cat meowed, taking a few steps back to hide behind her owner. 

Yzako raised an eyebrow. Whatever the little creature had gotten up to in the past was anyone’s guess, but part of her hoped it included inconveniencing Zhao in any possible way. 

“The avatar’s been through here. Let’s keep moving.” June snapped her reins, the shirshu taking off again. 

“Were we really traveling all night?” Yzako asked as they made their way down the road towards a village. 

“Oh yes!” Iroh said over his shoulder. “I managed to catch a few winks of much needed rest myself, though it was not so easy. It seems that sorghum helped you!”

“See, Zuko?” she looked up at the prince.

“I am not in the mood for your sass.”

As the town grew closer and closer, they found themselves running straight through it. People screamed, running out of the shirshu’s path as it jumped onto a roof in a frenzy. It landed back on the ground in front of another old woman, this one wearing fine golden robes and looking significantly less wild than the previous one.

As the shirshu came to a stop, Zuko let out an angry noise. “Why are we stopping?”

“The girl must have spent a lot of time here,” June said, holding the necklace up. 

“We have no time for this!” he reached forward, grabbing it from her before sliding to the ground. He held the necklace out to the shirshu, narrowly dogging a jab from its barbed tongue. “Hey! Watch it!”

“Oh look! He likes you.” June said as Iroh chuckled behind her. 

“Zuko, be careful!” Yzako yelled through her laughter. 

He just clenched his teeth in anger before pulling himself back up to sit behind her. “It’s not funny!”

“It’s pretty funny.”

“Ugh!” he leaned back away from her. “This is ridiculous. We can’t waste time like this!”

“Care to hear your fortune, handsome?” the old woman stepped towards them, looking up at Iroh with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. 

“At my age, there is really only one big surprise left, and I would just as soon leave it a mystery,” Iroh winked at her. 

June cracked her whip, sending the shirshu rearing up before taking off again. Yzako flinched at the all too familiar snapping sound, swallowing hard. It brought back painful memories, a phantom pain stinging in her back as if she were back at the temple. 

“This avatar of yours gets around,” the bounty hunter commented as they rode through the forest. 

“He’s crafty like that,” Zuko said, eyes narrowed. 

When they finally came to their next stop, the shirshu burst through the gates of what looked like an abbey of some kind. Women in ceremonial robes wearing strings of wooden prayer beads around their necks jumped back in terror, gasping as the giant beast turned in circles. It let out a piercing shriek, its head up in the air as it continued sniffing. 

“We’re getting close,” June said, an eager grin on her face as she cracked her whip and they took off back through the front gates again. 

Again, Yzako jumped at the sound, bumping back into Zuko. He put a hand on her arm, his brows furrowed. She was usually calm in the face of weapons, but he had noticed that the whip had bothered her twice now. 

“We’d better be nearly there,” Zuko grumbled. 

“Relax, Angry Boy.” June said over her shoulder. “We’ll be pouncing on them in no time.”

As Yzako straightened up in the saddle, she couldn’t help but echo the bounty hunter’s enthusiasm. She had gotten her cat nap and was more than ready to finally get off this wild ride and stretch her legs a little bit, whether that meant going for a run or fighting someone to the death. 

When the shirshu suddenly veered off into the trees, they could all sense that they were nearly upon their targets. The beast ran through the grass, letting out a loud snarl before leaping down onto a road that had been cut into the hillside, nearly landing directly on two very familiar faces. It cornered them up against the dirt, growling as it focused on Katara.

“So this is your girlfriend,” June said. “No wonder she left. She’s way too pretty for you.”

Zuko ignored her, slipping out of the saddle. “Where is he? Where’s the avatar?”

“We split up,” Sokka said bravely, standing in front of his sister. “He’s long gone.”

“How stupid do you think I am?”

“Pretty stupid. RUN!” he grabbed Katara’s arm, trying to lead her away. 

The shirshu just lashed out with its tongue, jabbing them both with those toxic barbs. They fell in a heap, completely paralyzed. 

“What are we supposed to do now?” Zuko asked angrily. 

June kicked the shirshu forward as it continued sniffing. “He’s seeking a different scent. Perhaps something the avatar held.”

The creature nudged Sokka’s backpack, shoving it open. A small scroll rolled out, falling open in the dirt where the shirshu inhaled deeply. It let out another awful shriek, pawing at the ground. 

“He’s got it!” June yelled. 

Zuko grabbed the avatar’s friends, tossing their limp bodies up for Yzako to catch. She hauled them over the shirshu’s back, and when Zuko climbed back on, they once again took off into the trees back the way they came. 

“So I guess that means I’m not too pretty for you, huh?” Yzako teased, looking back at him. 

“No you’re not!” Zuko yelled. “I mean, no, not that you’re not pretty...because you are, you’re very pretty you’re just--”

“They’re all too pretty for you, Angry Boy!” June called back.

“Nobody asked you!”

Her laughter rang out over the sound of the shirshu’s loud footfalls. Before long, they had burst through the abbey’s front gates once again, undoing whatever shoddy repairs the women had managed to do in the short time they had been gone. 

The beast slowed to a walk, its nose down on the ground as it tried to locate the source of the scent it had followed. It was growling and grumbling, drool dripping from its jaws as it circled the courtyard slowly. 

“What’s it doing? It’s just going in a circle!” Zuko yelled. 

It picked its head up suddenly, and as Yzako followed its unseeing gaze, she saw an all too familiar orange glider descending from the clouds. Aang was flying towards them, the shirshu rearing onto its hind legs to snap at him as he dipped down close to its head before darting away again. 

“Wait, no!” Yzako screamed, clutching at the saddle as the beast stretched up taller and taller in its quest to bite at the avatar. With a shout, she went tumbling to the ground with the others, landing in a heap as the shirshu stumbled and fell onto its back. 

“Aang!” Katara managed to yell. 

“Up!” June sprang to her feet, cracking her whip. As the shirshu got up, she jumped onto its back, riding it towards the avatar now that he had landed across the courtyard. 

Just before they reached him, his bison appeared, headbutting the shirshu and sending it flying into a nearby wall. As it stood over them and snorted angrily, Zuko was climbing to his feet, stalking towards the avatar angrily. Little flames were bursting from the fists he held at his sides, and Yzako pushed herself up just in time to have to dodge the same blast of air that Zuko did. 

“Iroh, are you okay?” she asked, turning towards the old man. 

“Yes, yes, I’m--look out!” he grabbed her and pulled her down next to him, shielding her face just as a massive explosion sent smoke and dust flying around them. 

When she looked up again, Yzako saw both Zuko and the avatar had been sent in opposite directions, landing against two rooftops across from each other. The blast seemed to have come from the two of them, a huge black scorch mark staining the ground where they had been fighting. 

“June!” Iroh yelled, running over to where she and the shirshu lay. He knelt down, patting her face as Yzako caught up with him. 

“Please don’t tell me he gave me mouth to mouth,” June said, rolling to the side and getting up. 

“No, you’re safe,” Yzako said. 

“Thank the spirits.” the woman cracked her whip. “Come on, Nyla, get up!” 

As she jumped back into the saddle yet again and ran off, Iroh just stood and smiled. “She is something!”

“I don’t think she’s in the market for love, old man.” Yzako patted his arm. “Maybe the next hot bounty hunter will be.”

They watched as the shirshu faced off with the flying bison, every lash of its tongue doing nothing but mildly hindering the sky beast. When they finally went head to head, they collided, the force sending June soaring through the air. When the landed behind the bison, she snapped her whip at him, barely scooting away before one of his massive feet slammed down towards her. The animal seemed like he was shaking with anger, fully intent on crushing her before she had the chance to even think about hurting him. 

On the rooftops above them, Zuko and the avatar were back at it, balancing on precariously narrow beams as they fought. When Aang pushed his opponent back with a current of air, he suddenly found himself running from the shirshu that had jumped up to pursue him. The bison slapped his massive tail against the ground in an effort to help, a huge blast of wind destroying half the building they had been standing on. 

While Iroh sampled jars of perfume that had been left sitting outside a window, Yzako could do nothing but look on. Zuko and Aang were fighting each other around a well, dancing on the bricks as the avatar tried to grab the necklace swinging from the prince’s wrist. She felt utterly useless, but they were moving too quickly for her to interject without doing something dramatic and potentially harming either or both of them. When the avatar jumped down into the well, Zuko seemed to be venting all of his anger out through the fire that poured from his hands, but instead of a little plume of crispy airbender smoke, he was rewarded with a huge fountain of water that sent him straight up into the air.

Aang landed, followed by Zuko a few moments later. Yzako ran towards them, positive that Zuko had broken his back or worse with the height he had fallen from, but when he just jumped to his feet, she skidded to a stop. 

“Hey, Yzako!” The avatar ran past her, fleeing Zuko’s fire as he pursued him. 

She stepped out of the way. “Hey, Aang!”

“Don’t greet him!” Zuko snarled as he sprinted by. He was stopped by the bison, who interjected and began blocking the prince with his massive face. 

The shirshu stepped out, finally managing to subdue the beast with its toxic tongue. After a few snaps to his face, he collapsed onto his side, groaning loudly. Aang was preoccupied, trying to avoid being burned to a crisp, and with the bison taken care of, June and the shirshu turned their attention to helping Zuko corner the airbender. 

Yzako ran forward, standing at Zuko’s side with her hands up and ready to take the avatar down. Aang was looking helpless, trapped by all of them, and just as Zuko seemed ready to give the order, Yzako felt a warm liquid rushing past her feet. 

“What the--” just as she looked down at it, it receded. As she turned, she was greeted by a huge wave of perfume, its strong fragrance soaking into her skin and clothes. 

The shirshu absolutely lost it. It reared up, sending June falling to the ground before its tongue began lashing out with wild abandon. It must have been completely overwhelmed by the smell, shaking its head until its tongue had collided with both Zuko and its owner. 

“June!” Iroh yelled, running forward to catch her as she stumbled back. They both went tumbling, and as the shirshu disappeared into the trees in its effort to get away from the perfume, Yzako found herself the only one still standing. 

“Uncle?” Zuko asked weakly, looking over at where Iroh had fallen. “I didn’t see you get hit with the tongue…”

“Shh!” Iroh hissed, raising a finger to his lips. June was laying on top of him, her eyes closed. At the sound of his voice, they snapped open, but all she could do was give him a heavy glare as the old man played dead. 

“Well, well,” Yzako said, standing over the three of them. “Guess we’ll be stuck here for a while. I’m gonna do what I can to help these nice people clean up the mess you made while you work on getting the use of your limbs back.”

“Yzako!” Zuko called after her as she turned her back to them. “C-capture the avatar!”

“Don’t you dare,” Aang shouted, running towards her with his staff at the ready. “You already hurt Appa, and caused all this damage!” 

Yzako held her hands up in surrender. “Relax. You’ve got me outnumbered now.”

June let out a little laugh from her place on top of Iroh. “So...after all this, I finally...learned your name. It’s not Shi after all.”

“Nope.” Yzako looked back at the woman. “I’m Yzako, the Golden Dragon. And I’m about to do some community service in your stead.”

June laughed again and Zuko just groaned as Yzako walked off to where Katara was bending the perfume back into its pots. This hadn’t gone at all how the prince had wanted, and as he closed his eyes to wait out the shirshu’s toxins, he couldn’t believe that the avatar was slipping right out from under his nose yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is enjoying this fic! There will be a couple fluffy chapters after this one, and then we're gonna be getting into some more dramatic stuff...I'm so excited to show you all what I have planned!!


	24. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Yzako relax after returning to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of a couple fluffy little chapters before we get into the siege of the north...I might be dragging (or DRAGON, HA) my feet a little bit on that because it's gonna be BIIIIG. In the meantime, enjoy!

“How are you feeling, hotshot?” Yzako asked, sitting down on the bed next to Zuko. She was carrying a tray of tea, sent straight from Iroh. It was music night, and they had gotten back onboard the ship just in time for him to run off and grab his tsungi horn to join the crew, leaving Yzako in charge of making sure the prince was feeling his best. 

“I told you, I’m fine,” he growled, sitting up. “The paralysis wore off hours ago.”

“Yeah, well, your uncle is still worried.” She set the tray down on his bedside stand and poured him a cup. “He sent me down with this to check up on you before bed, since he’s pretty sure you won’t be going up for music night.”

Zuko took the drink from her hands, a grumpy look on his face. “That didn’t go at all as planned.”

“I know.”

“It never does.”

“I know.”

“No you don’t!” he yelled. “I’ve been hunting the avatar for years, and now that he’s finally reappeared, he keeps slipping out of my grasp!”

Yzako calmly poured herself some tea, shoving her little swell of anger back down before she could snap at him. “Well, he’s the avatar. It stands to reason that he would be harder to catch than any normal person.”

“Time and time again I’ve had him, and he always gets away again.” he stared at the cup in his hands. “I know I need to be patient. I need to keep trying until I capture him. But I’m running out of time.”

“Before what?”

“Before someone else gets him! Zhao captured him once. Who’s to say he can’t do it again?”

“That’s a problem that can wait for tomorrow,” Yzako said. “Right now, it’s evening. We just set sail. We’ll keep following him, and you’ll have another chance to go after him soon enough.”

“You could have captured him at the abbey.”

“I was outnumbered three to one. They would have beaten me easily.”

“No they wouldn’t! You’re the Golden Dragon. You tore down a temple. You nearly maimed Zhao at his fortress. A simple monk shouldn’t be any issue for you!”

Yzako tried to keep her gaze level. “You’ve also let him run off, Zuko. Or was that the Blue Spirit that broke the avatar out of jail?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “That was different.”

“I’m sure it was.” she rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her tea before she could say anything. He was just crabby after a long day. 

He did the same, staying quiet for several moments. They both just sat there, not quite enjoying each other’s company as the silence lingered on and on. Yzako wished that Zuko would relax so that they could both just go to bed, whether together or separate, but the air remained tense the longer he refused to speak. 

“She was right.” he finally said, his voice quiet.

“What?”

“You’re too pretty for me.”

Yzako looked at him in surprise. “Zuko, I was just teasing you about that--”

“No, it’s true.” he looked away from her, avoiding her eyes. “It’s been on my mind lately.”

“Why?”

“Look at me. I’ll have this scar forever. My face is permanently disfigured so that I can never forget what I did...but look at you. Yours is perfect.”

Yzako just stared at him for a long moment before putting her cup of tea down. She took his carefully, placing it on the tray without spilling a drop before quickly leaning towards him and pulling him into a hug. 

“It’s not,” she mumbled into his neck.

“Yes it is.” he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tightly before pulling back to look at her. “No scars, no burns…”

“Just because they aren’t on my face doesn’t mean they aren’t there.” she laced her fingers through his, holding his hand. “There are a lot of faint scars on my back…”

Zuko frowned. He was starting to put two and two together. “Do they hurt?”

“Not really. But...I guess the memories do.”

That all but confirmed his suspicions. The way she flinched at every crack of a whip, what he knew of her past...it all added up, and he didn’t like what it equaled. 

“The memories are the worst part.” he agreed. 

She offered him a sad smile, moving her hand to cup his scarred cheek. “For what it’s worth...I think you’re pretty.”

“You don’t have to lie to try to cheer me up. I know what I look like.”

“I’m not lying. I mean it.” she ran her fingers over the scar tissue, marveling at how smooth it was. “I think it makes you look handsome.”

Zuko leaned into her touch, closing his eyes. Her hand was so gentle as she caressed his face, and for the moment, he forgot how ruthless she could be. As her thumb brushed over his skin, he could barely feel it, his scar partially numb like it always was when it wasn’t hurting. Her touch was light enough that it didn’t cause him any pain, and when he cracked his eyes open again, he found himself staring straight into hers. 

“Can I ask you about it?” she whispered. 

He gave her a small nod. He would talk to her about anything in the world if it meant that she would keep holding him like that. 

“Does it hurt?”

“Sometimes. It...pulls. Like my skin is too tight. I can barely remember the first few weeks after it happened...I don’t think I was awake for much of it.” he looked down, pressing a kiss against her palm. “It can’t feel much, either.”

“What about your eye? Can you see?”

“Some.” he closed his good eye. “Right now, you’re...just sort of shapes. I can see colors, but everything is blurry. I can’t read with this side, and I had to learn how to fight without good depth perception.”

“Can you hear?”

“Not as well. Everything was kind of...damaged.”

Yzako just nodded, not knowing what else to say. 

“It’s why I usually sleep on that side.” Zuko spoke up. 

“On your scar?”

“Yeah. If I sleep with the bad side down...I can hear better with my good ear, in case something happens. Right after it happened, I didn’t know that yet. There were so many times when people would just walk into my quarters and I wouldn’t have any idea that they were there. I had to train myself to always sleep either on my back, or on my left side.”

“Really? Every single night?” she was trying to think back now. She was usually the first one to fall asleep when they were together, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized he was right. She always either curled up on his chest or at his left side, where he could roll over and hold her against him. 

“Every night. I don’t feel...safe, if my scarred side is up.”

“Not even with me?”

“N-no! I didn’t mean it that way!” he pulled back, eyes wide in alarm. 

She laughed. “I know, I know. It’s okay.”

He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. “It isn’t that I don’t feel safe with you...it’s that I need to be able to protect you. What if something happens and I don’t react in time?”

“I don’t need protecting, Zuko.”

“I know that, but...if something happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”

“Well.” she took his hands in hers, giving them a squeeze. “I’ve got an entire dragon on my side. If anything ever happens while we’re asleep, Kul will wake us up.”

“You sure about that? He seems pretty quiet….”

A loud growl echoed through the room, the candles on the table burning brighter as the dragon rumbled around them. Zuko just chuckled at Kul. For a spirit, he sure had a big personality. 

“See? We’ll be fine.” Yzako slipped away from Zuko’s grasp, standing up next to the bed. “Come on. Why don’t we go see if we can catch the last little bit of music night?”

The prince rolled his eyes but got up anyway. “I hate music night.”

“Yeah, sure you do.” she said skeptically, taking her hand and leading him towards the door. 

As they entered the hall and made their way up to the deck, the night air that hit them was warm. Not as hot as the Fire Nation, but still comfortable enough that Zuko wasn’t shivering in his sleeveless top. The sound of Iroh’s tsungi horn led them to the far end of the deck, near the bridge tower, and Yzako could see several of the crew all sitting around a fire they had built. 

“Ah, Prince Zuko! And Yzako! What a pleasant surprise!” Iroh called, pausing the music to wave them over. 

Yzako smiled, but as she took a step forward, she stumbled as a huge surge of energy swept through her body. When she turned to look behind her, she saw Kul staring down at her, his golden wings flared out at his sides. He walked with them, folding his wings in and curling around the crew. 

They all looked at him warily at first. Yzako couldn’t really blame them; he was absolutely massive, his body long enough to encircle the entire group. If he had been alive instead of a spirit, he would have been even more formidable, and the thought of it was unsettling. 

“What a superb honor this is!” Iroh exclaimed, bowing his head. 

Kul returned the gesture as Zuko and Yzako sat down in front of him. The music started again, a few crewmen getting up to dance, more and more coming to join them as the night wore on. Yzako’s hand slipped into Zuko’s and he squeezed it, looking down at her. This was one of those rare moments they sometimes got to share, when things felt a little bit normal. He hardly even knew what normal meant anymore, but everything and everyone seemed to be at peace for the time being. 

Iroh sang a song about pretty ladies, and Lieutenant Jee played a pipa while he sang his own folk songs. As more and more of the men shared tunes from their home villages, Yzako realized that she couldn’t remember any music from her childhood. The sages certainly hadn’t taught her any. She was missing out on so much culture from her own nation, and the more she traveled with Zuko, the more it was starting to bother her. 

When Kul started making odd, unearthly noises, she was concerned. He was nearly howling, his voice rising and lowering in pitch every so often. Everyone paused to stare at him, and when it fell silent, the dragon just stared back. They all turned to Yzako with questioning expressions, but when she only offered them a stunned shrug, it was up to Iroh to clarify. 

“I believe the Golden Dragon is singing an ancient Fire Nation song for us,” he said, a wide smile on his face. “Lieutenant, please, play for our guest.”

Jee just nodded, picking up his pipa and plucking at the strings. To everyone’s surprise, Kul started up again, his ghostly baying carrying out across the waves. Yzako leaned back against Zuko, thoroughly shocked as Iroh began humming along with the dragon. It seemed like a fairly simple tune, but it was one she had never heard before. She wondered how Iroh knew it, too. 

When Zuko joined him, so quiet that only she could hear, Yzako was even more shocked. 

“It’s an old song from the southern coast,” he explained when he saw her face. “My...my mother used to sing it to Azula and me. It’s a lullaby.”

“I didn't know dragons liked music.” Yzako huffed, sitting back. She was jealous that everyone else, including a dead dragon, seemed to know so much more than she did. 

“I’ll teach you sometime.” 

“Promise?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

She leaned against him with a little smile on her face. At least she had a shot at learning some Fire Nation culture now that she was around people who had actually grown up with it and carried it into adulthood with them. The sages were supposed to have been the cultural leaders of the entire country, but it seemed like they had neglected to show Yzako anything about her own people. 

As everyone eventually grew tired and began heading back to their quarters for the night, Kul faded into the darkness again, leaving the air feeling unusually warm in his stead. Zuko and Yzako also got ready for bed, and when Yzako stripped down and crawled under the sheets to her usual spot, she was surprised to find Zuko shoving her over. 

“Excuse you,” she protested as she slid her out of his way. 

“What? It’s my bed. You can’t complain about where I want to sleep.”

“But this is always my spot!”

“Not tonight.” he climbed in after her, laying on his side and wrapping an arm around her waist. “Goodnight, Yzako.”

She started to wiggle out of his grip, trying to figure out why he was acting so weird. When she managed to turn over to face him, though, she fell still. He was laying on his good side, his scarred ear facing up. Her expression softened, and all she did was lean forward and press a kiss against his head before settling down with her back against his chest again. 

“Goodnight, Zuko.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you all think?? I saw a post that's been going around that pointed out how Zuko almost always sleeps on his scarred side, and it made total sense! I haven't checked to see if it's true, but it's definitely now canon in both this fic and my head, lol.


	25. Lullaby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko's ship continues north in pursuit of the avatar, and Zuko and Yzako enjoy a peaceful night together.

As they sailed north, following the avatar, the air grew colder than Yzako had ever felt before, even colder than when she had been near the south pole. She wasn’t delicate, but she was used to the warmth of Roku’s island...and that had literally been a volcano. This crisp arctic air was more than she had ever had to deal with before, and while she was good at heating herself up, she still shivered nonstop. 

“W-why am I so tired?” she asked one day as she stood with Iroh on the deck. 

“You are using all of your energy to stay warm,” the old man smiled. “Shivering makes you tired, too!”

“How come you aren’t freezing?” she grumbled, hugging herself. 

“I have some extra insulation,” he laughed, patting his belly. “Besides that, you don’t have very many layers on, Yzako. Perhaps you should consider bundling up.”

“The only thing warmer than this is my nice golden outfit.” 

“You haven’t worn that in weeks!” Iroh’s eyes were twinkling. “Why not go change? All those layers of fine silks are sure to keep you nice and cozy as we continue heading north.”

Yzako smiled a little. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“Well? Go on, then!”

“A little eager to see me all fancied up, aren’t you?” Yzako teased, turning to head towards her quarters anyways.

“I would never squander an opportunity to see the Golden Dragon dressed as finely as she should be,” he smiled that huge smile again. “I am sure Prince Zuko would be eager to see you in your nice robes as well….”

Yzako paused to consider his words for a moment before sprinting below deck. She could hear Iroh’s bellowing laughter even as she jumped down the stairs, the sound echoing after her. He was right; his nephew would probably love seeing her back in the golden robes she had acquired at the palace. Maybe she should toss on her crown and some jewelry, too. They hadn’t gotten close to the avatar in over a week, ever since the shirshu adventure, and she doubted they would be encountering him or his friends anytime soon. With no danger of needing to suddenly fight, maybe this would be the perfect time to dress up.

She ran into her quarters, leaving the door cracked in case Zuko happened to be walking by. She didn’t think any of the crew would be bold enough to think the invitation was for them, especially since Zuko had been growing more and more willing to grab her in public as the days went on. Maybe he was getting bored, or maybe he was just more comfortable with showing affection for her in front of the crew...either way, he had been openly holding her hand, lacing their fingers together, and kissing her. For Yzako, it sort of felt like a dream come true; a prince was doting on her in full view of his little kingdom, without fear of what his subjects would say. 

She stripped out of her training tunic and pants, changing into the proper undergarments for her nice robes. As she was just starting to tie her sash, the door creaked open, and her head shot up. Standing there before her was Prince Zuko, standing with a speechless expression on his face as he took in the scene before him. 

“What are you doing?” he finally asked. 

“Changing. Why? What are you doing?” Yzako asked.

“I was...going to give orders to Lieutenant Jee…”

“Oh? Did you get distracted?” 

Zuko cleared his throat. “Why are you putting on your nice robes? We’re nearing the arctic circle.”

“These are the warmest clothes I have,” she answered. “Besides, I haven’t worn them in forever. What do you think?”

“What do I think?” his eyes grew a shade darker as he took a step towards her and shut the door behind him. “I think you’d better finish getting dressed before I get impatient.”

The tone of his voice made her heart jump, and it wasn’t long before she was dripping in gold jewelry, half undressed again. She desperately tried to keep her balance while Zuko knelt in front of her and reminded her just how good he was with his tongue, moaning every time she gripped his ponytail. He couldn’t resist her dressed like this, and a quickie up against the wall was just what he needed to start his day. 

One day, they would be doing that in the palace, around corners and in empty corridors while they tried to hide from servants and generals who might catch them. For now, though, the cold metal of the ship would have to do. He could dream about returning home later. 

When they finished, he helped Yzako get dressed again, straightening her crown for her and brushing his fingers over the gems fitted into her jewelry. She looked regal, especially when they made their way back up onto the deck and the sunlight reflected off of all her gold. Together, they climbed the stairs up to the bridge, and Yzako joined Iroh and some of the men for a game of pai sho while Zuko spoke with Lieutenant Jee.

After an hour of watching, Yzako let out a huff. She still couldn’t wrap her head around Iroh’s white lotus tile strategy, and she had a feeling that she probably never would. 

“The white lotus is often overlooked,” he said when he heard her. “It is an unassuming piece, but one of great importance.”

“I just don’t understand the strategy,” Yzako grumbled from her place next to him. 

“I believe in time, you will come to welcome the white lotus as a friendly and familiar sight,” Iroh smiled at her gently. 

Yzako just shrugged. “Yeah, I guess….”

“Have you thought about joining in for music night this week?” he asked, sliding a tile across the board. “I am sure you have a lovely singing voice, and we would all be blessed to hear it.”

“I don’t know any songs...and I can’t play any instruments,” Yzako sighed and shook her head. “Kul can sing to his big heart’s content. I’m fine with just listening.”

“I believe we are scheduled for a refueling tomorrow at a Fire Nation shipyard. It may be best that he remain hidden, just for the night.” he moved another tile across the board, and his opponent yelled out in defeat. “I win again! You put up quite the fight, though; just as I suspected, you are all learning!”

Yzako laughed as they all groaned, the next brave crewman taking his predecessor’s spot to try his luck against Iroh. She had never seen anyone beat him, but he always encouraged them to try...both because he liked to teach them, and because they always gambled. The pile of coins on the board grew larger and larger as the evening wore on, until Iroh finally won the last game of their tournament just in time for dinner.

Zuko and Yzako spent the night together in her quarters, enjoying each other’s company. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear, his lips ghosting over her jaw as she leaned back against him. Their time went uninterrupted, several comfortable, intimate hours that they spent wrapped up in a lovers’ embrace. As the night wore on, it grew colder and colder on the ship, despite the furnace heating it around the clock. They kept each other warm, though, their skin running hotter and hotter as they rolled across the bed.   
Zuko was careful not to damage any of her fine jewelry or clothing, disrobing her slowly and deliberately. He couldn’t wait to see her with an entire collection of silk robes in different Fire Nation colors and patterns, one for each day of the month. They had been sailing straight north for days, chasing the avatar to the Water Tribe, and Zuko had a feeling he would be able to corner to monk there and finally put an end to his long hunt. It was so close he could practically taste it, and as he rocked his hips against hers, he imagined that they were in his room back home. They really would be, soon enough. 

Afterwards, in what was probably the middle of the night, Yzako pulled a blanket around her shoulders and sat up. Her hair was a mess, black strands flying in every direction as she came down from the high that always accompanied sex with Zuko. He sat up with her, laughing at the sight as he stood to grab a water flask from the table against the wall. 

“What’s so funny?” she asked. 

“Nothing,” he shook his head, still smiling as he drank. 

“I’m a mess, aren’t I?” she held her hand out for the flask as he finished. 

“That means I did my job,” he smirked as he returned to her. “You look satisfied. As always.”

Yzako rolled her eyes as she took a drink of water. “You sound like you’re getting a big head. What if I was faking it, and you’re not a sex god after all?”

“I’d like to see you fake how far your eyes rolled back in your head just now,” he laughed, sitting down behind her. 

“I seem to recall yours doing the same thing more than once,” she retorted.

“Yeah, because your mouth feels good.”

She snorted a laugh. “Maybe we’re both sex gods, then.”

“Pleasing you in bed may be the only thing I’m actually good at,” Zuko commented as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Let me braid it.”

“What?” She craned her neck to look back at him.

“Your hair. Let me braid it.”

“You know how?” She turned her head back to face forward again. 

She could feel him separating sections of her hair from each other, combing his fingers through them and taming her mane. “When I was young, my mother would let me braid hers before bed. It was our own little ritual, just the two of us. She told me that one day, I would need to do it for my wife, or daughter, or both.”

Yzako was quiet as she listened. He had never talked about his mother so much before. “Did your father ever braid her hair for her?”

Zuko was quiet for a second. “No.”

“Were they not very happy together?”

“No.” He sighed. “I told you, he wanted to throw me over the palace walls, but she convinced him not to. Most of the time, they were completely different from each other.”

“What was she like?” 

“She was…kind.” He let out a quiet chuckle. “She and I used to walk in the gardens. She loved it there. We would watch the turtleducks in the pond while Azula played with the others.”

“Did you have a lot of friends?” Yzako asked as he wove sections of hair together. 

“Not really. We were only permitted a few. Azula went to the Royal Academy for Girls, and she met Mai and Ty Lee there. I...didn’t really have any of my own, aside from our cousin.”

Yzako couldn’t see the way that Zuko squeezed his eyes shut at the memories, but she noticed how his hands paused. Determined to keep the conversation from getting too incredibly depressing, she changed the subject slightly. 

“It had to have been nice growing up in the palace, though,” she said. 

He continued braiding her hair again. “I guess so. I had private lessons at home every day instead of going to school like Azula, and we shared a firebending teacher. I remember she hated him, and my father had him sent to the colonies as punishment.”

“Your uncle didn’t train you?”

“No, he was busy with the war. For most of my childhood, it was just my sister, my parents, and me.” He finished the braid, looking down at his work. “Do you have siblings?”

“Not that I know of,” she said. “I guess my father could have remarried by now.”

“Do you ever wish you could see him again?”

“Oh, spirits, I used to. I thought about him every day for months.” She shook her head slightly, smiling sadly. “It’s funny...I can remember a few things here and there, and I remember the day they took me away, and I can see him standing there on the beach...but I can’t remember his face.”

Zuko was silent. He hadn’t meant to bring up anything that would upset her, but he could already hear the sorrow in her voice. 

“I’m sorry, we don’t have to talk about it—“

“No, it’s okay,” she interrupted. Turning to look at him, she scooted back, sitting in his lap with her cheek against his chest. “Thank you for braiding my hair. Your mother would be happy to know you still remember how.”

“You would have liked her,” he said quietly. 

“Why did she marry your father if they were so different?”

“It was arranged by the sages. She came from somewhere far off, but that’s all I really know. I never met any of her family.” He shrugged. “They weren’t always at odds with each other, though...when I was little, after I showed that I was a bender, my father was...happy. Especially after Azula was born.”

“He really went from trying to toss you out the window to loving you?”

“I don’t blame him.” Zuko wrapped his arms around her. “The royal family has a lot of expectations to live up to. The crown prince not being able to firebend would make people think the throne was weak.”

“Would you throw your newborn son over the palace walls if he wasn’t born a bender?” She asked skeptically. 

“That wouldn’t even be an issue,” he argued. “You’re far too powerful to not produce a firebender—“ 

When he realized what he had said, Zuko immediately fell quiet, his eyes wide. Yzako looked up at him, equally stunned, and saw that his face was growing redder and redder with embarrassment as he stared off towards the wall instead of facing her. 

“You think we would have kids?” She asked.

“Forget I said anything, I’m just tired—“

“No, I’m not letting that one go,” she grinned, pushing herself up with her knees on either side of his legs. “Would we?”

He finally dared to look at her and immediately regretted it. She had her hands on his shoulders, a wide smile on her face that made him afraid that she was going to mock him. 

“Well…it would be expected,” he said. “As crown prince, I have to carry on the bloodline.”

“And you think I would be the person to help with that, huh?”

“Yes, if I’m courting you!” He snapped. “No one would have any problems with it. You’re practically a master firebender already.”

“So...you don’t have some arranged marriage waiting to happen when you get un-banished?”

“What? No! Why would you think that?”

“What about girlfriends? You are the prince, after all…”

He sighed. Now she was just starting to get annoying. “I...sort of dated a girl before I was banished.”

Yzako wasn’t sure what she was expecting his answer to be, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it once she heard it. “Oh. Was she noble?”

“We didn’t interact with commoners.”

“No peasants, got it.”

“It wasn’t that serious. We were just teenagers.” He paused. “I don’t suppose you, uh...dated much….”

“Yeah, not really.” She snorted. “So, say we do capture the avatar and take him back to your father. What happens to us next?”

Zuko smiled, pulling her down onto the bed with him. “There will be celebrations, feasts to commemorate my return and the capture of the avatar...I’ll start preparing to eventually rule again, and you’ll enjoy all the luxuries royal life has to offer.”

“Like what?”

“Fine dining, the run of the palace, exotic pets...you’ll want for nothing, especially after I take the throne.”

“And I would be free to do whatever I wanted?”

“Of course you’d have some duties to perform.” he pulled the sheets over them, exhaling some steam from his nose when he noticed how cold Yzako’s feet were against his legs. “You would be expected to behave like a princess, and then a queen. I’m sure my father would want you to participate in strategy meetings with his generals, but after we bring him the avatar, Ba Sing Se will fall, and the war will be over anyways.”

Yzako’s stomach flipped unpleasantly. That sounded an awful lot like it meant she would still be forced to serve Ozai. “But...if I wanted a break, I could leave whenever I wanted?”

“My family used to take vacations all the time when I was a kid. After my father was crowned Fire Lord, we stopped going...but you and I could.” he took her hand in his, running his thumb over her fingers. 

She frowned. She had set out on this entire stupid mission wanting to gain her freedom, and initially, her plan had been to disappear after the Fire Lord rewarded her with it. A life in the palace with Zuko sounded nice on the surface, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt like a caged bird. The bars around her would change, get nicer and fancier, but they would still hold her there. 

“We could go to Ember Island,” Zuko continued. “My family has a beach house there. It’s where all the Fire Nation nobility vacations when they want to get away from the city.”

“What would be expected of me?” she asked. “How does someone...behave like a princess?”

“You would learn how to carry yourself, how to behave in front of esteemed guests...I don’t know, probably write poetry or something, too.” he shrugged. “My family has always valued strength and power above all else, and you already have both. You’d be pampered with whatever you wanted.”

“...would I be able to take my collar off?”

He looked down at her. “If you wanted to, yes.”

“I do want to.”

“When we’re at the palace, when my honor is restored, I’ll court you properly...you won’t be in service to anyone, and you won’t need a collar.”

Yzako just looked back at him. Would she really be able to finally get rid of it? Her mysteriously strong collar, that never melted or even softened no matter how hot her skin grew, that had only ever been changed out once when her old one had gotten too small as she got older...if anyone could find a way to reverse whatever the sages had done with it, it would be the royal family, right? 

But did she even want to live in the very house that the man who had killed Kul was born in? 

She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about that now, while she was in the safety of Zuko’s arms. “Teach me that lullaby.”

“I’m not a very good singer…”

“I don’t care.”

Zuko sighed. “Fine.” He began humming the tune that Kul had sung several nights before, and Yzako could hear the sleepy dragon rumbling along. 

“Sleep, baby, sleep,   
The night is calm and dark,  
Your fire lights your dreams,  
But I’ll be here at dawn. 

Sleep, baby, sleep,  
Soon you’ll be a king,  
Sleep, baby, sleep,  
Tomorrow, you’ll be king.”

His humming continued, even after Yzako’s breathing had evened out. He smiled, closing his eyes and soon joining her as sleep overtook him. 

Had Zuko known about the events that would soon play out as they neared the Northern Water Tribe, he would have stayed awake longer to enjoy the moment. The sea was calm, the ship was quiet, and save for the cold, everything was perfect. Instead, he fell asleep with Yzako laying on his chest, his arm around her. 

It was the last peaceful night either of them would enjoy for a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't judge my lyrical abilities, I did my best! What do you all think? This is the last fluffy chapter for a while, so eat it up!


	26. Four Seasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Zuko and Yzako near the north pole, Zhao shows his face again...

Iroh was lucky that Yzako was so invested in listening to music night; otherwise, she would have been hiding from the cold somewhere below deck in a cozy bed, like Zuko. Music night was fun, though, and she was determined to hear more Fire Nation songs. So, she was all huddled up in her robes, an extra blanket around her shoulders as she listened to Iroh’s song. 

“Winter, spring,   
Summer, and fall,   
Winter, spring,   
Summer, and fall…”

The harbor was dark and quiet, a frigid, yet gentle breeze chilling anyone who happened to be outside. If Yzako hadn’t been so focused on Iroh’s singing, maybe she would have heard the soldiers heading down the pier towards their ship...but she was wrapped up in the lyrics, too busy to notice anything or anyone coming their way. 

“Four seasons,  
Four loves.   
Four seasons,   
For love.”

It was only when the verse had ended and one of the musicians stopped playing that Yzako realized something was wrong. Everyone fell quiet as a figure boarded the ship, and as he grew closer to the little fire they were sitting around, they all recognized Admiral Zhao. A few soldiers walked up behind him, flanking either side and effectively blocking the gangway. 

“Well, well. How lovely it is to find you all here.” he said. 

“Admiral Zhao, it is an honor,” Iroh said, as smoothly as he could. Yzako could hear the irritation in his voice, and she wondered if it was because he genuinely didn’t want to deal with this asshole, or just because music night had been interrupted. 

Yzako’s eyes narrowed at the smirk on the admiral’s face. “What do you want, Zhao?”

It only widened into a confident grin. “Seize her.”

She sprang to her feet as quickly as her clothing allowed, the blanket falling from her shoulders. “Did you forget what happened the last time you faced me? How’s your hand healing?”

His face fell for a moment before growing angry. “I don’t want any trouble. This ship is surrounded. Come willingly, and no one will get hurt.”

He motioned with his hand, and suddenly dozens of soldiers were marching up onto the deck, their hands and weapons all pointed towards Iroh and the crew. Yzako could hear Kul growling at the sight, but as she looked around, she realized Zhao was right. The deck was too small for her to unleash the kind of firepower she needed to take them all out, and while Iroh and Lieutenant Jee would be able to withstand the heat, she had no idea if others like the cook and the helmsman could. Zhao had trapped her, and she didn’t like it, but she had to admit that going with him was the safest choice for everyone else. 

“Fine.” she growled, a little puff of smoke leaving the corner of her mouth. “I’ll go with you. But my cell had better be heated.”

It wasn’t.

She was shackled and taken to the brig on Zhao’s flagship. It was dark, all metal, and above all, freezing. There were a few candles scattered around, most of them near the door, but nothing for her to burn and make a fire with. She didn’t know that while Zhao’s soldiers were dragging her away, the admiral was ordering Zuko’s crew to join him. She also didn’t know that Zhao had already received the all-clear from the Fire Lord to attack the Northern Water Tribe. At the moment, she was just incredibly grumpy, huddled up in the corner of the cell, and trying to decide what to do. 

\--

Back on his ship, Zuko was moping in his quarters, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall. Yzako had insisted on going up to listen to music night, but he had been in a bad mood all day. He didn’t know what triggered it, but he had been grouchy and angry for the past several hours and had absolutely no desire to go put up with his uncle’s constant insistence that Zuko play something. 

When the door creaked open, he glanced towards it and saw Iroh standing there. “For the last time, I’m not playing the tsungi horn.”

“No, it’s about our plans,” his uncle said, stepping inside. “There’s a bit of a problem.”

At the sight of someone else entering his quarters, Zuko’s eyes widened in alarm. Admiral Zhao was there, a smug look on his face as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. 

“I’m taking your crew.”

“What?!” Zuko jumped off his bed. 

“I’ve recruited them for a little...expedition to the north pole,” Zhao said, walking around him. 

“Uncle, is that true?” Zuko growled, looking past Zhao.

“I’m afraid so,” Iroh hid his face against the back of his arm as if he were about to sob into it. “He’s taking everyone...even the cook.”

“Where’s Yzako? What did you do with--”

“Sorry you won’t be there to watch me capture the avatar,” Zhao interrupted. “But I can’t have you or that little dragon getting in my way again.”

Zuko lunged towards him with a snarl, stopped only by his uncle. “What do you do with her?!”

“Zuko, no!” Iroh said sternly, holding him back. 

The prince was seething as Zhao turned his back to them. He didn’t want this monster on his ship, much less in his own room. He had done something with Yzako, Zuko was sure of it; she would have been there otherwise, or melting straight through the metal floors in anger by now. 

When Zhao stopped to stare at the broadswords on the wall, though, all of Zuko’s thoughts immediately flew out of his head. The admiral pulled one down, weighing it in his hand. Did he recognize it? He had to. 

“I didn’t know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko,” Zhao said, slicing the air a few times. 

“I’m not,” Zuko looked at the floor. “They’re antiques. Just decorative.”

Zhao watched him with narrowed eyes, running his hand along the blade. “Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, General Iroh?”

“Just rumors,” Iroh said. “I don’t think he is real.”

“Oh, he’s real, alright.” Zhao stepped towards the two of them with the sword laying flat across his palms. “He’s a criminal. An enemy of the Fire Nation.” He flipped the blade, catching it by the hilt and handing it to Iroh. “But I have a feeling justice will catch up with him soon.”

Iroh took it from him, holding it down at his side. He shared a wary look with Prince Zuko as the admiral began heading out. 

“General Iroh, the offer to join my mission still stands, if you change your mind.” Zhao walked out into the corridor, pulling the heavy metal door shut behind him. 

Zuko immediately turned.. “What happened, uncle?” he hissed. “How did Zhao take the crew? What did he do with Yzako?”

Iroh sighed, carrying the sword over to its display. “Admiral Zhao has the ship surrounded with his own troops. Dozens of them rushed onboard. He has taken Yzako into custody.”

“How? Why did she go with him this time?”

“He threatened the safety of the crew,” Iroh placed the broadsword with its brother and turned to look at Zuko. “She had no choice but to go with him. I suspect he has her in the brig on his own ship.”

Anger was bubbling up in Zuko’s chest. “We have to go get her!”

“Wait, Prince Zuko!” Iroh stopped him, a hand on his nephew’s arm. “It is not so simple. Zhao commanded the crew to join his mission to the north pole, and offered them both high pay and good recommendations for future work.”

Zuko’s eyes widened. “They’re traitors!” he snarled, wrenching away from Iroh’s grip. 

“They are trying to think realistically.”

“This is my ship and they’re my crew!”

“Prince Zuko, please!” Iroh raised his voice and the prince’s nostrils flared angrily, exhaling steam. “Do not blame them. They were outnumbered, and trying to think of their own futures.”

“What about my future?” Zuko growled, walking back to sit on the edge of his bed. “How am I supposed to get to the avatar now if I can’t even sail my own ship?”

“That is quite a dilemma,” Iroh raised a hand to stroke his beard thoughtfully. “I will think on this. In the meantime, we must trust that Yzako can take care of herself. Now, I am going to brew some tea. Would you like any?”

“No.” Zuko flopped onto his side, scar down. 

“Very well.” Iroh bowed before exiting the room, leaving his nephew alone with his thoughts. 

Zuko was near panic. He knew Yzako could handle whatever Zhao could throw at her, but that didn’t matter. She was stuck in some cold prison cell on the admiral’s warship, probably extremely pissed off, and he needed to find a way to get her out. Last time, at least, she had been on land, and the fortress was easy to get to. Now, if that ship started sailing before Zuko reached it, his chances of ever sneaking on board were so slim they might as well have been zero. 

Kul and Yzako were tough. They had shown their strength countless times in the past few months. But Zhao was bound to have learned better by now, and if he was even a tiny bit apt at his job, he would have a dozen guards stationed just outside her prison cell at all times. There was a reason he kept getting promotions; as irritating as he was, Zhao was a good strategist, and if there was anyone who could actually catch Yzako, it was probably him. Zuko hated to admit it, but the man was a formidable adversary. 

When Iroh returned a few hours later, he found Zuko in almost exactly the same position he had left him. The old man sighed, knowing there was little he could do to cheer his nephew up in such a grim situation. 

“The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels,” he said. “Especially Lieutenant Jee.”

“Good riddance to those traitors,” Zuko said angrily. 

“It’s a lovely night for a walk,” Iroh opened the door a bit further, stepping inside the room. “Why don’t you join me? It would clear your head.”

Zuko barely moved, just glaring at the ceiling. 

“Or just stay in your room, and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy.” Iroh left, closing the door behind him. 

As he made his way up to the deck and then down the gangway onto the pier, he hummed to himself. He was sure his nephew was anxious about Yzako, and he was clearly upset that the entire crew had left him. Iroh couldn’t find it in himself to blame any of the men; many of them were forced to serve on Zuko’s crew after being disgraced themselves, like Jee. The Lieutenant had been a skilled fighter and leader when Iroh first met him during his 600-day attempted siege of Ba Sing Se, but somewhere along the line, Jee had lost his own honor and been made to cut his topknot off. Iroh didn’t know if he had a family to provide for, but a recommendation for further service from an admiral like Zhao was sure to benefit him and everyone else from Zuko’s crew, and they all needed to survive just as much as the next man. 

He spotted Zhao’s flagship in the distance and paused. It was unmistakable, a golden dragon figurehead decorating the bow. Yzako was sure to be on it, angry and probably breathing fire at anyone who came too close. Iroh was certain that she would be okay; it seemed that whatever the Fire Lord wanted her arrested for didn’t include any sort of death warrant, and Zhao wasn’t stupid enough to mess that up. 

As he walked up the hill to the nearby forest to enjoy some nature before heading back to console Zuko again, Iroh pondered on what to do. Zhao would be taking Yzako to the north pole with him, and while Iroh was more than happy to abandon any hunt for the avatar, he knew that neither Zuko nor himself was willing to let Yzako be taken away so easily. There needed to be a way to at least follow the fleet north and help her somehow. 

He inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh smell of the northern Earth Kingdom. The ground was covered in a light sprinkling of snow, and it was just cold enough for him to see his own breath on the air. As he suspected, this walk was a lovely way to clear his own head and straighten out his thoughts. He and Zuko needed a strategy, but, as he so often feared, it would not be very straightforward. 

Iroh’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise from behind him, and when he turned to look, any hope of thinking up a plan was abandoned. A plume of smoke was rising from the docks, and he immediately feared the worst. 

“Zuko!” he yelled, stumbling forward down the road he had taken. 

\--

“Well, well.” 

Yzako raised her head at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice. She was huddled in the corner of her cell, shivering slightly. It had been hours since Zhao’s men had tossed her behind bars, and so far, this was the first she had heard from anyone. She was surprised to find that the man who had stepped into the room wasn’t one of the admiral’s, though; he was from Zuko’s crew. 

And she wasn’t happy to see him. 

“What do you want?” she growled at the man whose chest she had burned weeks ago. “Want your clothes burned again? Not crispy enough for your taste?”

He approached her with an angry look on his face. “You won’t be speaking so boldly after a while in here.”

“And you won’t be speaking at all if you come any closer to this cell.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I don’t even know your name,” Yzako rolled her eyes, turning away. She didn’t even want to give this guy the honor of her attention. “What are you doing here? Working with Zhao all of the sudden?”

“We all are,” he smirked, leaning up against the bars. “He just bought our loyalty. Prince Zuko has no crew left, and we’re all joining the admiral’s mission.”

“What mission?”

He laughed. “Oh, you didn’t know? We’re headed to the north pole. The admiral is going to do what Zuko couldn’t in capturing the avatar, and he’s going to take down the Water Tribe...all while you sit in here and freeze.”

“What did I say about coming closer?” Yzako asked, her voice dangerously low as she pushed herself up onto her feet. 

“I consider myself pretty safe out here.”

“What’s your problem? Are you really so desperate for my attention that the only way you can get off tonight is by bothering me while I’m in jail?”

“I just thought I would pop in,” he smirked. “Who knows, maybe you’ll reconsider my previous inquiries.”

“Oh, give it a rest.” she took a step forward. “You’re still stuck on that? You really think you can get me in your bed?”

“Doesn’t need to be in a bed. Could be in a hallway, the cargo hold...a jail cell, even….”

Yzako was on him in a flash, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and yanking him towards her. His face slammed into one of the metal bars on her cell, a satisfying clang echoing around the room. 

“You dare speak to me in such a way?” she snarled. “I should have killed you last time!”

“Yzako,”

She looked up at the sound of another voice. Zhao was standing in the doorway, an amused smile on his face, hands behind his back. 

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

With a disgusted yell, she gave the man a violent shove that sent him back towards Zhao. The men collided, the admiral just wrinkling his nose as Zuko’s former crewmember scrambled out the door. 

“Keep that one away from me,” Yzako hissed, gripping the bars angrily. 

“I see you have a history.”

“He wishes.”

“Ah, a lovers’ quarrel.”

“I’m going to rip your mouth off of your face.”

Zhao just chuckled. “Oh, Yzako, I will never tire of your empty threats. I hope I get to hear many more of those during this journey.”

“You won’t be laughing when you don’t have any lungs to breathe with,” she snarled, swiping at him. 

“Come now, little dragon,” Zhao leaned back, easily dodging her. “You don’t even have any claws to cut me with right now. I have to say, that spirit of yours is quite impressive. I’m sure the Fire Lord will be pleased to see it when I present you to him.”

“Too bad you won’t be getting the chance.” Yzako snapped, pulling her arm back in. 

“Oh, I think I will be this time. Notice how cold it is, even now. We haven’t crossed into the arctic circle yet.” Zhao smirked. “Imagine how this will feel when we actually reach the north pole.”

Yzako snorted angrily, her breath coming out in clouds. “I have my own fire.”

“Of course. We all do. But you have to admit, firebending is significantly harder when the cold is this oppressive. You can even feel it right now...that tightness in your chest, that pressure as the air temperature around you drops. I’m not too worried about you finding a way to melt through these bars anytime soon.”

“We’ll see about that,” she growled. “What have you done with Zuko?”

“You know, that’s the most interesting thing.” Zhao turned to the side, taking a few slow, deliberate steps. “I visited Prince Zuko on his ship just before I returned to mine. He was in his quarters, a room I’m sure you’re very familiar with.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Don’t be nosey, Zhao.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sure you’re going to say something about tearing my nose off next, aren't you?” he laughed and stopped, turning to pace the other way. “I noticed some incredibly well made broadswords hanging on the prince’s wall. He assured me that he had never been trained in the art of the blade, and they were mere antiques...I don’t suppose you know anything about those, do you?”

“No.” she snorted angrily. “He’s a prince. He has all sorts of weird decor.”

“I’m sure.” Zhao stopped pacing and turned to look at her. “Well, you see, they looked a bit...familiar to me.”

“They’re broadswords. I’m sure everyone has a few lying around.”

“You can play dumb all you want, but I think we both know the true identity of the Blue Spirit.” the admiral leaned towards her. “An enemy of the nation, no matter his real name, deserves to be brought down.”

Yzako’s eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t.”

Zhao chuckled again. “Oh, but Yzako…”

In the distance, somewhere outside, there was a loud boom.

The sound of an explosion.

“...I already have.”

If Admiral Zhao had thought he had seen the full extent of her anger, he was sorely mistaken. The scream she let out was ear piercing, and his eyes widened in surprise as she threw her shoulder into the bars of her cell hard enough to bend them slightly. If it caused her any pain at all, she didn’t seem to notice or care. There was a loud roaring around them, but as the admiral braced himself to feel the heat and force of a real dragon, he was almost disappointed to find that no spirits were appearing. 

Yzako was breathing hard, steam billowing from her nostrils as she threw fire and flame from her hands, hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Kul was angry, but his host was too distracted, too much of a whirlwind of emotions for him to manifest around her in any way. All the dragon could do was roar and hiss, lending some of his power to her as she raged at Zhao. 

“You didn’t!” she yelled. 

“A traitor deserves justice!” he shouted back over the sound of her ramming into the bars again. 

“You asshole!” she shrieked. “Murderer!” 

“I am no murderer!” he yelled, jumping back to avoid the white jet of flames that shot out of her mouth. 

When she had finally run out of anger for the moment, she fell to her knees, hysterical sobs racking her body. Zhao just watched her, staring down at this young woman so broken by the news of the prince’s death. It confirmed that the two had been close, as he had suspected, and now that Zuko was out of the way, there would be no one to come rescuing the dragon. 

“Y-you killed him,” Yzako said, hands shaking as she tried to grip the metal floor. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling--it was a mix of intense anger, flashes of panic, and the deepest, most soul-tearing pain she had ever experienced. “You killed a member of the royal family!”

“And who will believe you, exactly?” Zhao asked. “All anyone will find is the husk of a ship that was the unfortunate victim of a blasting jelly accident.”

Zhao had taken everything from her. Her love, her safety, her only chance at a free life...he had wrenched it all out of her hands in one stupid move. 

“Besides, I don’t imagine the Fire Lord will be very disappointed to learn that the banished prince was lost. What do you think, Yzako? Will Ozai be as torn apart as you are right now?”

She shook her head, still partly in disbelief. “You stole everything. All of it. You took it all!”

“I hardly know what you’re talking about.”

“He was everything!” she roared, climbing to her feet to face him again. “Zuko was my chance at a new life, and you ripped that away from me!”

“Oh?” Zhao was becoming increasingly curious about her statements. “How, might I ask?”

Yzako stopped, looking down. A loud sob made her hug herself. She shouldn’t even be talking to Zhao. She shouldn’t be entertaining him like this...but if Zuko was dead, she didn’t have much left to care about. 

Or lose. 

“He was my chance,” she said through her tears, more to herself than the admiral. “My reward...O-Ozai was going to reward me...you stole him from me!” 

As Yako rushed forward and took another swipe at him, Zhao leaned back. Her nail scratched his armor, a few small sparks flying up from it. 

“A better life, my f-freedom…” she turned, her breaths coming quickly as she hyperventilated. “My chance, he was my chance…you took it!”

When she rushed towards the bars again and another stream of fire poured from her jaws, Zhao took it as his cue to finally leave. He slammed the door behind him, Yzako’s angry scream echoing after him as he walked past the guards stationed just outside the brig. 

The wheels immediately began turning in his head, and it didn’t take long for him to start putting two and two together. It seemed he had done Zuko a favor by having him assassinated by pirates with barrels of blasting jelly rather than the girl he was so sweet on. The admiral knew Yzako couldn’t have simply been inspecting shipyards when the Fire Lord sent her out to his station, and now, his request for her to be brought back to him was making more and more sense. 

The silly dragon girl had fooled around with her target and fallen in love. 

“Admiral Zhao,” a captain greeted him as he entered the bridge. “General Iroh is here for you. He’s waiting in your strategy room.”

“Wonderful,” Zhao smirked, turning for the door. The pirates had done exactly as he asked and waited for the old general to leave the ship before setting the explosives off. All that was left to do now was convince Iroh to join his mission, and he would be heading towards the north pole with a massive invasion force sent by the Fire Lord. 

This night just couldn’t get any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> go go gadget angst?? It's siege of the north time! Let's goooooooo (I'm crying inside lol)


	27. The Siege of the North I

When Yzako had finally tired herself out, and probably given herself several new bruises, she slumped to the floor. The bars on all sides of her cage were bent and dented from the sheer force of her slamming into them, a few bearing scorch marks. Zhao had been right; as the temperature dropped, it grew harder and harder to produce the kind of fire she was used to, and she was getting afraid that she could freeze entirely. 

She cried enough tears that she was probably dehydrated, and when she had none left, she just curled up in the corner. She had no idea what to do. For once, Kul couldn’t come to her aid, and he couldn’t make things better. It was all her fault that she had gotten attached to Zuko, and now she was paying the price. 

His promise of a nice life was gone, along with him. Yzako wished she could just wake up and be back in his arms somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, safe and warm and happy, but instead, she was on her way to whatever punishment Ozai had waiting for her. She didn’t even want to think about what the Fire Lord would do.

When she heard the door open, she didn’t even bother looking up. A few guards had tried bringing her food to calm her down, but she just burned it all and threw it back in their faces. She didn’t want to see anyone but Zuko, and that didn’t seem like it was happening anytime soon. Or ever.

“Yzako,” a voice said quietly.

“What, Iroh?” She sighed, face still buried in her sleeve.

Wait.

Iroh?

She finally peeked up to see the old man standing there, a relieved smile on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“I joined Admiral Zhao’s mission,” he whispered. “We must be quiet. I convinced the guards outside that I could keep you from destroying this cage. It was the only way they would let me in to speak with you unaccompanied.”

“You joined Zhao?” Her face grew angry. “You left Zuko alone to die?”

“Yzako, please!” Iroh held his hands up. “You must listen to me.”

Yzako could tell that her words had stung, but at the moment, she didn’t care about hurting his, or anyone’s, feelings. “I’m listening.”

“Zhao hired the same pirate crew we dealt with back at that seedy harbor. Prince Zuko saw them just before the blast.”

“Yeah? How would you know? You don’t exactly look like you got blown up.”

“I did not.” He looked down sadly. “But I wish I had been there with him. I left the ship to go for a walk and clear my head. The pirates waited for me to leave before they set off the explosives. When I heard and then saw the smoke, I ran back to the pier as fast as I could.”

Yzako just leaned her head against the cold metal wall. She was waiting for some gruesome description of Zuko’s decimated corpse, or some metaphor about life and death and tea. 

“Prince Zuko was lucky,” Iroh continued. “He noticed that something was wrong and went up to the bridge. When the ship exploded, he was thrown into the water.”

Yzako looked up at him. “And?”

“The cold woke him up after he was knocked out. He managed to swim to the docks and together we searched the wreckage for anything we could save.” He sighed. “Prince Zuko is aboard this ship, right now, in disguise.”

She couldn’t believe her ears. Only moments before, she had been positive that Zuko was dead. Her heart swelled with joy, and a smile spread across her face. Standing up to go meet Iroh at the front of her cell, Yzako was suddenly filled with positive energy. She felt Kul’s spirit rumbling around her, and now that she was able to focus a bit more, he seemed more present than he had been all night. 

“So now what?” she asked Iroh. 

“I have already met with Admiral Zhao. We are currently sailing to the Northern Water Tribe, where he plans to lay siege to their city.”

“What’s Zuko doing?”

“I believe his best course of action will be to slip off of the ship when we are closer to our destination.” Iroh closed his eyes, bowing. “I should be going, before anyone comes in wondering what’s taking so long. Remember your breathing, Yzako.”

She returned his bow. “I will, Iroh.”

He straightened up and nodded. “I will see you when we land. Be safe.”

The heavy metal door slammed shut after him when he left, and Yzako returned to the corner to curl up and try to conserve her own body heat. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for them to reach the north pole, but when they did, she needed to be ready to break out of prison. How could she, though? She was stuck on the flagship leading dozens, if not hundreds, of Fire Nation battleships that were all heavily armed and crawling with well-trained soldiers. It felt like too much of a gamble to hope for a guard to be dumb enough to come in with the keys so she could simply grab them, and as much as she wished she were capable of it, she didn’t think she could actually just bust out using brute force. 

If she could get warm enough to melt something and then break it, though….

Moving to sit properly, she took a deep inhale and then exhaled slowly. As much as she was itching to try to slam her way through the bars of her cell and go on a rampage to find Zuko, she would need some help from Kul first. Focusing on her breath, she found her mind clearing, and it wasn’t long before Yzako could feel the warmth that always came along with the dragon’s presence. 

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

The cold of the brig stopped bothering her, Kul growling quietly as his own breath began heating the room up. A little smile quirked on Yzako’s lips. Oh, yeah. She could do this. She had plenty of experience with breaking chains, so long as they weren’t actually forged with the intention to hold a dragon. It seemed doubtful that with enough help from Kul, she wouldn’t be able to get out of a normal prison cell. 

With plenty of time to kill, she kept meditating. She hadn’t been doing it much as of late, spending much of her time with Zuko instead. Iroh would probably be proud of the effort she was putting in now that she didn’t have anything more physically interesting to do. As she floated around in that peaceful, calm state, her mind found itself dancing with Kul’s, their energies brushing against each other. Yzako always felt close with him--they practically shared a body--but now, as the hours passed and the ship sailed closer and closer to its destination, she felt more connected with the dragon than she ever had before. 

Her breaths deepened, the sound suddenly foreign, yet familiar. It was the sound of something much, much larger than a human filling its lungs, the sound of a massive beast breathing calmly. It was the sound of Kul. Yzako couldn’t begin to accurately describe the feeling, the way her mind was melting into his, but it was almost as if they were becoming one being. Her awareness seemed like it was shifting between the two of them; one moment, she felt small, like herself, but the next she was the size of a dragon. 

Yzako’s mind wandered lazily, dipping in and out of her own memories. She recalled the way she had been looking through two sets of eyes when she watched Zuko and Zhao’s agni kai all those months ago, and then the way she had bended Kul’s own fire at the temple. Maybe, if she kept this up, she would be able to do it on command. 

Breathe in. 

Breathe out. 

She found herself entering memories that weren’t hers anymore. Bright images of forests and villages passed by as she flew over them, the sun warm on her back. Kul was dreaming of his life, the volcano he had lived in, she people he had seen come and go on the beaches of his island. How old was he? Even he wasn’t so sure he could remember. Yzako watched through his eyes as the dragon taught the humans to firebend, and in return, she saw them leaving offerings for him. 

As she remembered things that hadn’t even happened to her, she didn’t feel angry, or even sad. Kul was simply at peace, reminiscing, maybe, and Yzako was along for the ride. Everything was comfortably warm, the dragon living in his island paradise while the little humans lived and loved and died in their village. He was unbothered, content, relaxed. 

Something was happening in Yzako’s head while she was in such a deep meditation, something that was making her into even more of a dragon girl than before. She was understanding Kul, drinking in his wisdom and opening up the parts of her mind that had been closed off. The bond the two of them shared was strengthening tenfold, to the point where, after several hours, she was beginning to lose track of which memories were hers and which were Kul’s.

When she suddenly heard a metallic screech, Yzako’s eyes snapped open. A soldier walked in, closing the heavy door behind him, and as she focused on him, she found that what she saw was...different. The room was normal, the soldier was normal, but...there were added colors, bright ones, new ones. 

Focusing on the intruder, she noticed that he wasn’t holding a tray of food, or doing anything else that would suggest he actually had a reason to be there. Her eyes narrowed.

“What do you want?” she snapped. “I’m not in the mood to be fucked with anymore tonight.”

He approached her cell, reaching up to remove the white plate hiding his face. “Yzako, it’s me.”

Her eyes widened. “Zuko?” Leaping to her feet, she ran to meet him, reaching out to put her hands on the sides of his helmet. His face was covered in cuts, his good eye surrounded by an ugly purple bruise. “Are you okay? How bad is it?”

“I’m fine.” he closed his eyes, wishing that he could just lean into her touch and stay there with her. “Did my uncle come see you?”

“Yeah, he was here earlier.”

Zuko nodded, opening his eyes again. His gaze met hers, and his brow suddenly furrowed. “What happened to your eyes?”

“Huh?” she blinked. “What about them?”

“They’re...dragon eyes.”

“Wait, really?” she looked around, as if there would be a mirror on the wall for her. When she found none, she let out an angry little puff of smoke. “Fuck, I hate this place!”

Zuko chuckled, leaning his head against the bars and finally smiling. “What happened?”

“Kul happened...I’ve been meditating all night. Day. Whatever it is now.” she looked back at him. “What’s your plan? How close are we? I want to get out of this stupid freezer.”

“Keep your voice down,” he hushed her. “I’m leaving at nightfall in a few hours. Zhao can’t know I’m still alive.”

Yzako’s expression fell. “Zuko, I...I really thought you were dead…”

“I’m sorry.” he squeezed his eyes shut again before cracking them open, looking down at the floor instead of facing her. “I wanted to come find you sooner. Just...get out of here when we’re close to the north pole. I’m going after--”

“The avatar,” she interrupted with a smile. “I know.”

He returned the smile. “Promise me you’ll stay safe.”

“I think I can handle myself. Just look at what I did to these bars when I heard the explosion.”

Zuko looked around at the damaged cell, taking in the dented bars and the scorch marks on the floor and walls. “All this because you thought I was dead?”

“I would’ve done more if I wasn’t freezing my tits off in here.” she huffed. “Look, just...be careful, will you? I don’t think my heart can handle another scare like that.”

He reached through the bars, cupping her cheek. Yzako leaned towards him, looking up at him with big, happy eyes. “You won’t lose me again. I’m going to capture the avatar and do what I set out to do years ago...restore my honor.”

“I know,” she sighed, turning her face to press her lips against his bare palm. “I trust you.”

Zuko’s hand moved to her chin, tugging her forward for a kiss. “I trust you, too.”

With that, he was pulling away, slipping his face plate back into place and disappearing into the corridor again. Yzako was left alone once more, returning to her spot near the back of her cell to meditate. The promise of her impending freedom had only continued to lighten her spirits, and as night approached, she was more than ready to do whatever she had to in order to gain it. 

\--

When Yzako heard the muffled thuds of Fire Nation battleships colliding with something in the distance, she knew it was time. After hours and hours of meditating, she was more than ready to finally have something fun to do, and as the air around her bristled with Kul’s energy, it was the perfect time to escape. 

Her eyes snapped open, and she rose to her feet evenly, slowly, carefully. Her hands reached for the bars to her cell, her skin already hotter than she had ever felt it. As she wrapped her fingers around the metal, she could see it beginning to glow red hot, the air sizzling as she exhaled and turned up the heat. Yzako quickly repeated her actions further down the bars, and before long, all it took was one good kick and she had a hole just big enough to squeeze through. 

With a pleased little smirk on her face, she gathered her robes, took a deep breath, and headed for the door. 

The guards just on the other side of it were as surprised as they were easy to take down, and with both of them quickly incapacitated, Yzako was off running. She headed towards the nearest stairs she could find, trying to remember the route she had taken when Zhao’s men dragged her down to the brig. She didn’t bother trying to hide or sneak along in the shadows; instead, she faced anyone who crossed her path with an angry snarl, and if they didn’t immediately turn tail and run, she shoved them out of the way. It seemed like they were all on their way to their battlestations or getting ready to disembark, and not many men were willing to stop and try to pursue her as she sprinted past. 

When she finally burst out onto the main deck, she was hit with frigid air. Steam was rising from her skin, her breath showing as she stopped to catch it. The sky was bright, the sun just peeking up over the horizon. The anchors had just weighed as the fleet prepared to move on the icy city looming in the distance, and Yzako knew she wouldn’t have much time to sit and dawdle. Without a moment to lose, she focused on the next phase of her escape plan: 

The dragon. 

Calming herself, she stood up straight, hands in fists at her chest as if she were meditating. With a loud roar, Kul signaled his entrance, a sharp wind picking up around Yzako as he materialized. His massive feet stamped down on either side of her, his head raised high in the air as he roared loud enough for the waterbenders defending their home to pause and wonder what exactly kind of monster that could be. 

Zhao heard it, too...the ear piercing call of a monster, and the telltale sound of his inability to capture the Golden Dragon once more. 

He turned with an angry grimace, tearing his eyes away from the Northern Water Tribe. He had been enjoying his morning, having risen early, with the sun, and given the orders to hoist anchor and advance for their siege. Several ships had already reached the massive wall of ice that the city hid behind, and Zhao’s flagship was quickly following. Yzako should have just stayed down in the brig where the insolent little dragon girl wouldn’t freeze out on the tundra, but of course she just had to do something stupid. 

General Iroh stood next to Zhao, his face blank even as another roar tore through the air. Was he really so washed up and stupid that he didn’t recognize the dragon’s cry? Or did he know something that Zhao didn’t?

“Yzako has freed herself,” Zhao growled, trying to appear calm. He still had things under control; his plan for defeating the Water Tribe was foolproof, and he would have more than enough time to take Yzako down in the meantime. 

“The call of a dragon is something I have not heard in many years,” Iroh said, his hands folded in his sleeves. “It is not something to take lightly.”

Zhao looked over at the old general, his eyes narrowed. “I’m sure it’s a sound you’re well acquainted with, Dragon of the West.”

Iroh closed his eyes. “In my youth, yes. I encountered the last living dragons and witnessed their power firsthand. They are a symbol of the Fire Nation’s greatness for a reason, Admiral Zhao. I can only hope that Yzako does not direct her flames towards you today.”

“Hmph.” Zhao looked back out over the water. “No matter. Our victory here today will be an easy one, with or without the Golden Dragon flying around our heads.”

“I don’t need to remind you that we have a time limit,” Iroh looked up at the admiral. “If we don’t defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable.”

Zhao’s face lit up, a wide grin sneaking across it. “Oh, I assure you, I have everything under control. I intend to remove the moon as a factor.”

“Remove the moon?” Iroh asked, shocked. “How?”

Zhao opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the shout of an unfamiliar voice. 

“Admiral Choi!” a man wearing outdated Fire Nation armor burst onto the deck, throwing his helmet to the side and brandishing a spear. “Prepare to meet your fate!”

Zhao rolled his eyes as the infiltrator ran towards him. No doubt this was some young waterbender warrior who thought that he had even the slightest chance to take the Fire Nation’s greatest admiral down. It only took moments for Zhao to send the boy flying down into the sea, and as he did, a huge shadow passed overhead. 

The giant spirit dragon was flying off towards the Water Tribe, Yzako no doubt sitting on its neck. Its long, serpentine body twisted and turned in the air like a ribbon, and Zhao gritted his teeth as he watched it grow smaller and smaller in the distance. If Fire Lord Ozai hadn’t sent him such specific instructions to capture Yzako alive, Zhao would be killing two spirits that day. 

“As I was saying,” he said angrily, his hands gripping the railing in front of him, “Years ago, I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret--the identity of the moon spirit’s mortal form.”

Iroh’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I was a young lieutenant serving under General Xu in the Earth Kingdom,” Zhao said, recalling his younger days. “I discovered a hidden library, underground, in fact. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration, and the words ‘moon’ and ‘ocean.’ I knew then that these spirits could be found, and killed, and that it was my destiny to do so.”

“Zhao, the spirits are not to be trifled with!” Iroh yelled angrily. 

“Yes, yes. I know you fear the spirits, Iroh. I’ve heard rumors about your journey into the spirit world.” Zhao smiled cruelly. “But the ocean and moon gave up their immortality to become a part of our world, and now, they will face the consequences.”

Iroh could only stare. He could hardly believe what the admiral was saying...he had heard of the library that Zhao spoke of, but how he of all people had stumbled across it and gained access to its unending supply of knowledge was beyond the old general. Destroying the moon...there was no chance that Zhao would actually do it, was there? How could he even find its physical form?

As he watched Kul disappear in the distance, Iroh could only hope that the dragon and his girl could at least stay safe. The onslaught that Zhao intended to bring down upon the Water Tribe was sure to end many innocent lives, but he had to stay put and play his part, for Zuko’s sake. His nephew was out there in the cold somewhere, no doubt trying to survive on the tundra, and as Iroh closed his eyes and tried to calm his thoughts, he wished he were simply brewing tea back on their old ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE WE GO LOL brace yourself for part two!


	28. The Siege of the North II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a couple chapters left before we move into book 2! There will be one more after this, and then a little break for an author's note. Then we'll be heading right into the events of the next season. I'm so excited for where this is heading! I also cried a little while writing this lol

The wind whipping through Yzako’s hair brought a smile to her face. She felt free, even though her collar was still fastened snugly around her neck. The air wasn’t cold enough to bother her as Kul made a beeline for the Northern Water Tribe, and as she looked down at the dragon beneath her, Yzako could swear he was looking more golden and more solid than she had ever seen him before. He was looking like a real, live dragon for once. 

The people down below them seemed to agree. 

As Kul dodged the massive, smoking projectiles that the Fire Nation fleet was hurling towards the frozen city, he suddenly found himself having to watch out for shards of ice that the Water Tribe warriors were sending his way. As far as they were concerned, this was a deadly beast, some terrible creature of legend that the Fire Nation had sent to ensure that their city fell. His ribbonlike body was avoiding everything that came flying towards him, regardless of who sent it. It seemed like he was untouchable, and when a huge flame came shooting from his open jaws, anyone trying to hit him gave up and scattered. 

“That isn’t exactly going to make them like you!” Yzako yelled over the rush of the wind in her ears. 

Kul just rumbled beneath her and flew on. 

“Where are we going?” 

This time, he didn’t answer, flying over the city in silence. Yzako huffed at him, holding onto his horns as she leaned to the side and looked down. The buildings beneath her were like nothing she had ever seen before, huge, towering structures made entirely of ice. In a way, they were grander than those in the Fire Nation capital, standing proud against the cold blue sky of the north pole. As she marveled at the world beneath her, Yzako wondered how she had never even heard of such a place; the sages had never mentioned it, and it never appeared in any of the books she was allowed to read when she wasn’t chained up. She had expected to find some small, scattered villages in the north, but this...this was something else entirely. 

She wondered if Zuko was hiding somewhere in the frozen city, huddled up in layers of furs and leather to stay warm. Had he already found the avatar in the several hours since she had seen him last? How did he even plan on getting back on the water after he caught the airbender, anyways? Yzako hated that she didn’t have any answers to her own questions. She hated that she had no idea where Zuko was, and she hated that she had no clue how to find him. What if he was stuck in the snow somewhere, freezing to death? What if the waterbenders had gotten to him first?

As Kul began to descend, flying in large circles, Yzako’s eyes widened in alarm. The waterbenders here were powerful, if their resistance to the Fire Nation was any indication. She wasn’t sure what to expect from them on the ground, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. Beating the shit out of Zhao’s men was one thing, but a city full of powerful waterbenders…? Part of her felt like she preferred to be on their side rather than his, if they would have her. 

And besides, the enemy of her enemy was her friend. 

She clung to Kul as he dipped down and headed for a tiny, unassuming circle just behind the palace. When the dragon landed and she slipped down, Yzako was surprised to feel grass beneath her toes, the little oasis considerably warmer than anywhere else in the north pole. It looked like a little garden, a hidden place of respite that was absolutely brimming with spiritual energy. 

As Kul settled down to enjoy laying in the grass, Yzako took a few steps forward. There was a little pool of water in the center of the oasis, and as she knelt in front of it, and in it she saw two fish. They were circling each other, swimming together, constantly moving in the most peaceful way possible. One was black with a white dot on its head, the other white with a black dot, and as Yzako watched them, she felt her eyes growing heavy. They were calming, offering her a sense of ease that she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. 

They were spirits, she was sure of it. Their energy was similar to Kul’s, and just as she was thinking of him, Yzako felt the dragon’s chin brush over her head. He reached his neck towards the pool, one of his long whiskers dipping into the water. As he did so, the energy around them doubled, and when Yzako turned to look, she saw that the dragon was suddenly very, very golden, and very, very solid. 

Had the fish given him the energy to hold a physical form? Yzako’s brow furrowed in confusion, and when Kul withdrew his whisker from the pool, he placed it against her forehead. Suddenly, she saw everything, and she understood. 

Tui and La, the Moon and the Ocean, circling each other in an eternal dance. They ebbed and flowed together, pushing and pulling, giving and taking energy. One was yin, the other yang, and as Yzako stared at Kul, she could feel both kinds of energy floating around her, coursing through her, running from the dragon into herself and then back. She had no idea how long she sat there watching and feeling it. She couldn’t stop following the flow now that she was aware of it, her eyes and her mind glued to energy around her. Was this what had kept the Northern Water Tribe safe from the Fire Nation all these years? Was it these two spirits, hidden away in this little oasis? 

When Kul pulled his whisker away, Yzako blinked. The world was back to normal again, and the sun was suddenly low in the sky. Where had the day gone? On Zuko’s ship, she had watched as the days grew shorter and shorter the further north they sailed, but had she really spent hours sitting there? It had only felt like a few minutes of meditation, when in reality, it seemed like it had been much longer….

Kul interrupted her thoughts with a low growl, rising to his feet. In the distance, Yzako could see what had bothered the dragon: a beam of light, shooting up towards the sky. As soon as it appeared, though, it had vanished again, leaving the quickly-darkening sky featureless once more. 

“What was that?” she asked. 

Kul shook himself, rising to his feet and stretching his wings out. Yzako took that as her cue to climb back on, and as she grabbed onto his horns, he took off into the sky. Night was approaching quickly, the heavy clouds obscuring the stars and turning the entire landscape gray. As Kul flew out over the tundra, in the direction of the mysterious beam of light, the wind grew sharper, the air even colder than it had been during the day. 

The full moon was still stubbornly shining, but it was muted by the clouds covering it. As she looked up at it, Yzako wondered about the Tui. Why was the spirit living in the north pole? Shouldn’t it be in its own world? ...And was it seriously that little koi fish?  
And what had that little koi fish done to her?

Much like the previous day, her vision was...wrong. She felt like she was still seeing through Kul’s eyes. While the world around her was bleak and featureless, there were little specks and ribbons of something more colorful flitting around. It almost looked like...energy? Little threads of energy, possibly the trails of living creatures or spirits who were out roaming the tundra. Looking at them felt similar to what she had spent all day experiencing at the oasis, but on a much smaller, more distant scale. 

When Kul opened his jaws and roared, Yzako noticed that he was following one of the trails. It was slowly becoming brighter, as if they were nearing its source, and before long, a dark shape appeared in the distance. Whatever it was, it was flying towards them, and as Kul rushed to meet it, Yzako found herself leaning back in surprise. 

“Is that...the avatar’s bison?”

Kul growled, dipping his large head in affirmation. 

Yzako gripped his horns tightly, squeezing the sides of his neck with her inner thighs and pushing herself up as high as she could to get a better look. What was the avatar doing so far out of the city? 

...Was Zuko with him?

When they nearly collided head on, she had her answer.

“Whoa!” the avatar yelled as Kul just narrowly missed Appa. “Yzako? Is that you?”

As her dragon twisted his body around the bison in a circle and finally settled into flying next to him, Yzako looked towards Appa’s saddle. The colorful energy was swirling around the big beast and each of his riders, different colors ebbing and flowing from every individual. One in particular seemed to be brimming with more than the others--a white haired girl dressed in Water Tribe colors. She was sitting with Sokka, Katara and Aang across from them...and an unconscious lump that looked suspiciously like Zuko lying between them. 

“What are you doing out here?” Yzako yelled over the wind. 

“Uh, you can thank your stupid BOYFRIEND for that!” Sokka shouted back, pointing an accusatory finger towards Zuko. 

Yzako craned her neck. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, he’s just knocked out!” Aang yelled. “He dragged my body all the way out here while I was in the spirit world talking with Koh!”

Yzako raised an eyebrow. “With...Koh.”

“Yeah, the Face Stealer!”

Kul roared as if he was agreeing with Aang. 

Yzako just rolled her eyes, huffing. “Oh, of course. Silly me. Koh the Face Stealer, duh.”

“What are YOU doing out here?” Katara asked suspiciously, arms folded over her chest. “Last I checked, the Fire Nation was attacking!”

“Yeah, shouldn’t you be with your pals destroying the city?” Sokka yelled.

“Zhao took Zuko’s entire crew and then tried to assassinate him,” Yzako sneered in Sokka’s direction. “Didn’t you stop to wonder why his face is so fucked up? He could have died out here!”

“Yeah, and now I’m starting to wish we had left him in the snow.”

“You take that back!”

“Guys, please!” Aang yelled at them. “We don’t have time to fight! The ocean and moon spirits are in danger. Someone is going to try to kill them, and if we don’t get back in time, I’m afraid they actually will.”

Yzako’s lip raised in a snarl as realization dawned on her. “Zhao.”

“What? Angry sideburns guy?” Sokka asked. 

“Admiral Zhao is leading this attack,” Yzako explained. “He’s out of control. He had me arrested just before he tried to kill Zuko and I was in a prison cell until this morning.”

“Will you please just explain if you’re on their side or not?” Sokka asked angrily. 

Yzako glared at him. “If anyone was going to try to kill a spirit, it’d be him.”

“Then we need to get back to the oasis as fast as possible,” Aang said, jumping from the saddle to the bison’s head. “Appa, yip yip!”

The bison let out a loud bellow, his large, flat tail moving to bend the air around him. Kul kept up easily, and as the Northern Water Tribe came into view in the distance, the clouds above them began to part. The full moon was bigger and brighter than Yzako had ever seen it, its silver glow lighting up the snowy tundra down below. 

As she marveled at it, though, it was suddenly bathed in red. 

Kul roared out in anger just as the white haired girl yelled pain. Yzako’s head whipped around to find her clutching her head, Aang behaving similarly. The world was suddenly the color of blood, the very air growing colder and more desolate. 

“Yue! Are you okay?” Sokka asked, grabbing the girl’s shoulders. 

“I feel...faint….” she said weakly. 

“I feel it too,” Aang agreed, looking up at the sky. “The moon spirit is in trouble.”

“What’s happening?” Yzako yelled to them as Kul roared again. 

Yue shook her head, lowering her hands and looking down at her lap. “I owe the moon spirit my life.”

“What do you mean?” Sokka asked. 

“When I was born, I was very weak, and very sick,” she said. “Most babies cry when they’re born, but I was born as if I were asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me. That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes, and began to cry...and they knew I would live.” she looked up. “That’s why my mother named me Yue. For the moon.”

Yzako couldn’t do anything other than stare at her. It was a story all too similar to her own, and it explained why Yue seemed to be bristling with so much energy.

Sokka was staring, too. “Wait, so you’re…” 

“Blessed by the moon spirit, Tui,” Yue said. “It gave me life.”

“But...that’s just like…” Katara’s voice trailed off as she turned to look at Yzako. 

Yzako continued staring. Her gut was lurching. This Water Tribe girl, this complete stranger, was tugging at her heartstrings. She couldn’t imagine anything happening to Kul, and now, surrounded by the blood red being cast from the moon, she found herself growing angry on Yue’s behalf. Part of her had thought that Zhao couldn’t get any worse, but the rest of her had always had the feeling that he absolutely could.

“We need to get to Zhao.” she growled. “Now.”

Kul roared in agreement, pumping his wings to speed up. Appa grumbled behind them as he kept pace. They flew in silence, cutting through the air as quickly as both beasts could, and as the oasis came into view, Yzako made out the forms of several firebenders. Zhao was holding some kind of pouch, several of his soldiers surrounding him at the edge of the spirits’ pool. The admiral looked pleased with himself, a smug grin on his face as he looked at his catch. 

Kul landed on one of the cliffs overlooking the oasis while Appa continued on to the ground. The avatar leaped off of his bison, the small flying lemur he usually traveled with appearing from the trees. It caught sight of Aang and altered courses, heading straight for Zhao and leaping to his head. 

“Get it off!” Yzako could hear the admiral yelling. He kept a firm grip on the wriggling bag in his hand, as as the lemur flew back to Aang on the other side of the pool, Zhao just gritted his teeth. 

“Don’t bother,” Zhao growled as his men prepared for a fight. He raised the bag, holding a fist near it threateningly. 

“Zhao, don’t!” Aang yelled when he saw. He dropped his staff, holding his hands up in surrender. 

“It’s my destiny…” the admiral said. “To destroy the moon...and the Water Tribe.”

“Destroying the moon won’t hurt just the Water Tribe,” Aang pleaded. “It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world!”

Kul growled, lowering his head as he prepared to take off again. Yzako could see only one fish in the pool, still swimming in its circle, even without its partner. The ocean was continuing on, but without the moon, it was moving rapidly, unevenly. The other koi, the one that Zhao had in the pouch, was thrashing violently, desperately protesting its capture. What was it going to take to get the admiral to let it go again? He couldn’t be reasoned with. He was past logic, Yzako could see it on his face even from a distance.

Movement across the oasis caught her eye, and she spotted a figure dressed in a warm robe. 

“He’s right, Zhao!” 

“General Iroh,” Zhao sasid, turning to look at him. “Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?” 

“I’m no traitor, Zhao.” Iroh removed his hood. “The Fire Nation needs the moon, too. We all depend on the balance.”

Zhao seemed unimpressed. 

“Whatever you do to that spirit, I’ll unleash on you tenfold!” Iroh yelled, dropping into a fighting stance. “Let it go, now!”

When Zhao’s expression only grew angrier, Kul finally spread his wings and let out an earth shattering roar. 

The admiral’s head whipped around, his eyes narrowing at what he saw. The dragon was a huge shadow, a black cutout against the bloody moon. Its jaws parted and bright fire poured out, and anyone in their right mind would have run at the sight of it. 

Zhao wasn’t exactly in his right mind, though. 

“So you decided to show up,” he said as Kul landed on the opposite side of the pool from Iroh. “It’s about time.”

“Let it go, Zhao!” Yzako yelled from atop the dragon’s neck. “You’re surrounded! You can’t run!”

The admiral frowned, closing his eyes. When he opened them, they seemed calmer, as if he had finally come to his senses now that he had the added threat of an entire dragon to contend with. He knelt down, opening the pouch and letting the koi fish back into the water. It swam to join the ocean spirit, the two falling back into their usual pattern.

Zhao sat back on his heels, closing his eyes again and breathing deeply. For a moment, Yzako thought that he had seen reason. 

Only a moment, though. 

When his eyes snapped back open, they were full of rage. “It’s my destiny!” he roared. Before anyone had a chance to react, he aimed a hand at the water, a huge blast of fire hitting the spirit he had just released. 

Yzako’s heart dropped.

Overhead, the moon grew dark. Not red, just...dark. The world was bathed in shadow as it disappeared entirely, and when Iroh made true on his promise and attacked Zhao, the fire leaving his hands was the only color that anyone could see. 

Zhao’s men quickly surrounded the general, but as Kul leapt towards them and crushed a few beneath his feet, they were taken down easily. Yzako was looking around wildly, her eyes wide with anger as she searched for the one person she truly wanted to kill.

“Yzako!” Iroh called. 

She looked down at him, her teeth bared in a permanent snarl. 

“Find Zhao!” the old man yelled before turning and running to the spirits’ pool. 

Yzako nodded quickly as Kul rose into the air. The admiral had to have slipped out of the oasis the same way anyone could come in on foot, and it didn’t take long before the light of a single arc of fire led them to Zhao...and Zuko. 

The prince had followed the admiral, and now it seemed that he had caught up to him. They were fighting on a narrow wall, but as Kul dipped down towards them, Yzako could feel the dragon beginning to slow. 

“What? Not now!” she groaned, feeling the telltale fatigue of Kul’s energy running out. By the time he landed, he was nearly transparent again, and as Yzako dropped down to her feet, he disappeared entirely. 

She was shaky as she ran towards Zuko, but she couldn’t let her stumbling feet betray her now. Too much was at stake to just curl up on the ground and nap it off. 

“You tried to have me killed!” Zuko yelled, advancing on Zhao.

“Yes, I did,” the admiral growled. “You’re the Blue Spirit, an enemy of the Fire Nation! You freed the avatar!”

“I had no choice,” Zuko said, kicking fire towards Zhao. His flames were hot and bright, reaching higher and further than they ever had before. Now that the moon was gone, the waterbenders had lost their power...but the firebenders had gained more.

“You should have chosen to accept your failure, your disgrace.” Zhao tossed his burning cape to the ground. “Then at least you could have lived.”

“No, Zhao!” Yzako yelled, diving between them as Zhao unleashed a barrage of fire on Zuko. She withstood the heat, bending it back towards the admiral before falling back to stand next to the prince. Her hands were still up at the ready, but she was breathing heavily, her entire body aching with the effort of staying upright now that Kul was gone again. 

“Well, well,” Zhao straightened back up. “The little dragon is here to save her prince. How poetic.”

“Shut up!” she snarled, aiming a kick at him.

He stepped back, teeth bared. “It’s no surprise to see you here with your lover. How long have you known that he survived, I wonder?”

“You’re a failure, Zhao!” Zuko yelled, throwing a fiery punch at the admiral. 

“Oh, I’m the failure here?” Zhao asked, returning every blast. “If anyone knows about failure, it’s you and Yzako.”

“Leave her out of this!” Zuko stepped in front of her, ready to defend the girl. 

Zhao chuckled, pausing. “You really have no idea, do you?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. “I’m not in the mood for talk, Zhao. Fight me, or give up!”

“Didn’t you ever stop to wonder why exactly your father wants her arrested?” Zhao asked. “Or why he even sent her out into the world in the first place?”

“D-Don’t listen to him,” Yzako panted, hands on her knees as she desperately tried to catch her breath. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Yzako, come on.” Zhao scoffed. “I’m not stupid. You may have fooled Iroh and this useless prince, but not me.”

“What are you talking about, Zhao?” Zuko asked through clenched teeth. 

The admiral smirked. “She really never told you, did she? She just wrapped you up in a little gossamer web of lies, and you ate them right up without a second thought. Pathetic.”

“Shut the hell up!” Yzako yelled, stepping out from behind Zuko to face the admiral. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, really? Then why don’t we compare notes,” Zhao’s smirk grew into a grin. “What did the Fire Lord send you out to do, Yzako? And why would you end up on Prince Zuko’s ship after spending so many nights in my harbor, doing nothing that would suggest you were actually there to carry out an inspection?”

Zuko’s eyes slid to the side to look at Yzako. She was exhausted and angry, swaying on her feet even though she was desperately trying to seem like she was fine. Her face was covered in rage, and even as her hands shook, she aimed a punch at Zhao. 

“If the Fire Lord wanted you to know, he would have told you!” she yelled. 

“Well, a mission as classified as yours would certainly be kept confidential.” Zhao dodged her fire easily. “But, had you been successful, there’s no doubt that we would even be in this situation right now.”

“Stay out of my business!” Yzako snarled. 

Zuko could tell that Zhao was getting to her. He had never seen her let the admiral bother her so much, but now she was practically unraveling. Her eyes were sparking with anger, face scrunched in an ugly grimace. Truth be told, Zuko had forgotten about the mysterious mission Yzako had been sent on. They were so happy together, it had just...slipped his mind. Now, he was starting to wonder if that had been a mistake. 

Zhao rolled his eyes. “If you won’t come out and say it, then I will!”

Yzako froze. There was no way he actually knew what she had been sent to do, right? She hadn’t told anyone, not a soul. Only she and Ozai knew about their deal. Zhao had to be bluffing. 

Right?

“Prince Zuko has a right to know that you were sent to kill him.”

“Shut UP!” Yzako roared, using what little strength she had to run forward and ram her shoulder into Zhao. 

The force sent them both tumbling down onto a walkway, Yzako landing with a painful thud. Zuko jumped after them, focusing only on ending Zhao. As Yzako pushed herself up to watch, she saw the light of the moon returning to the sky, and breathed a sigh of relief. Iroh must have found a way to heal the spirit, and now...she could rest for a moment.

She scooted back to lean against the door at the end of the arch, looking on as Zuko stood over Zhao. He was ready to take the admiral out for good, his chest heaving as he readied his fist. Just as he was about to do it, Zhao looked past him, gasping at the sight of the full moon. 

Zuko followed his gaze, and as he heard the rush of water below them, he rolled out of the way. He was just in time--the water in the canal below was reaching up, countless tendrils arching up and coming down again to grab Zhao. It pulled the admiral away, but even as Zuko reached his hand out in a moment of mercy, Zhao refused his help. He turned away, disappearing into the icy water as Zuko just stood and looked on. 

There was nothing he could have done. He had been prepared to kill Zhao himself, but somehow, actually watching the ocean take him felt different. Witnessing death was...different. As the adrenaline of the battle left his veins, he turned to see Yzako huddled up in the corner, and he finally remembered Zhao’s words. 

“Z-Zuko,” she called weakly. She needed to explain herself to him, make him believe her. She was sure that he would see that she had abandoned her mission, absolutely certain that once she told him the truth he would pull her into his arms. 

As Zuko approached her, he looked angry. “Was it true?”

“What?” Yzako stared up at him. 

She looked tired, small, weak...nothing like the Yzako he was used to. Her golden robes seemed less impressive now, her hair messy around her crown. Tired eyes looked up at him, meeting his own harsh gaze, and Yzako suddenly realized that he had believed every word that Zhao had said.

“Zuko, please--”

“You lied to me!” he snarled. 

“No! I didn’t, I never lied--”

“You used me,” he took a step towards her, fists at his sides. “What did my father really send you to do?”

Gasping for breath, Yzako clawed her way up the frozen door, pulling herself to her feet. “H-He did, he did send me after you, but I--”

“Tell me everything. Now.”

Yzako felt sick. Her stomach was doing flips, her heart pounding as she looked into Zuko’s eyes. There was none of the gentleness she had grown used to seeing there, no compassion that was reserved just for her, no...love. 

“Th-The Fire Lord summoned me to the palace,” she said, looking down at Zuko’s feet. “He tested me. Then he had me trained. A-And then, he told me he would give me freedom.”

“Freedom? From what?” Zuko snapped. 

“From everything!” Yzako looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “He said, that if I just did this one simple thing for him, I would live my life however I wanted!”

Zuko’s nostrils flared in anger. “One simple thing...taking my life is a simple thing, is it?”

“No! I-I mean yes, but...no!” the tears poured down her cheeks. “I-I didn’t know you. I only knew you had been banished. The Fire Lord said that if I got rid of you, I would go free.” 

“Get rid of me?!” Zuko snarled. “That’s what you were doing when you came onto my ship? Looking for a way to KILL me?”

“No! No, Zuko, please…” Yzako sank to her knees in front of him. “I only wanted my freedom, it was the only way I could have it--”

“That’s all I was to you?” Zuko asked, the anger ebbing from his voice. “Just...what? A target? A bargaining chip?”

“I-I risked everything for you!” she cried, reaching for his leg. “Zuko, please, just--”

He stepped back, recoiling. “Don’t touch me!”

“Please!” she sobbed. 

“How much of it was a lie? All of it?”

“None of it!” she insisted, trying to look at him through the tears in her eyes. “I put myself in danger the second I met you and didn’t kill you.”

“Oh, am I supposed to be grateful?” Zuko sneered. He stepped back, still looking down at the pathetic thing in front of him. “I slept with you, I offered you a new life...I was a fucking idiot. You were using me, playing with your prey before you killed me and dragged my body back home!”

“No, I swear it!” she tried to straighten up but failed, falling back onto her hands and knees. “I swear, Zuko, I swear on my life. I couldn’t do it. I get to know you, a-and I don’t know, I just...I fell, I guess, or something, and I...fuck, Zuko, I love you.”  
He stared at her. Part of him wanted to say that he loved her, too. 

“How am I supposed to believe you when I just found out that you were going to kill me?” he asked quietly. 

“It’s the truth!” Yzako sobbed. 

Zuko just shook his head, taking a step back. “No, I...I can’t trust you…”

“Zuko, please! I--”

“Here, over here! I hear them!” a voice called, interrupting her. 

Yzako looked around quickly for its source, and suddenly, she was being hauled to her feet by a small group of Zhao’s men. They began pulling her back through the door she had once been leaning on, and as her head whipped around, she searched for Zuko through teary eyes. 

“No! Let go of me!” she screamed, kicking weakly. “Zuko!”

“Keep hold of her!” a vaguely familiar voice yelled. “She’s still worth whatever bounty the Fire Lord put on her head!”

“ZUKO!”

From the shadows down below the walkway, the prince watched as Yzako was dragged away but what remained of Zhao’s invasion force. She spit out weak flames, still crying as they hurriedly disappeared with her. He had leapt down to hide as soon as he heard them coming, but she hadn’t even had the chance to run. Turning away, he shook his head, trying to ignore the urge to go after her. He was confused and hurt, not knowing what to think anymore or even who to trust. Had his father really sent her, or someone else? Did the Fire Lord actually want him dead, just like Zhao had?

The only thing he really knew was that he needed to find his uncle and get out of the city as quickly as he could, and that meant leaving Yzako behind, whether what she had said about loving him was true or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's some of the angst we all wanted...don't abandon me yet! I have such exciting this planned for Yzako, she just has to get through some rough stuff first!


	29. Return to the Palace

Iroh was silent as he tied the ropes of the small sail. They had managed to steal a Water Tribe fishing boat, but it was a craft designed for a waterbender to use, not two exhausted firebenders. The old man was doing his best to steer them away from the retreating Fire Nation fleet, but it seemed that they would have a few unpleasant weeks ahead of them as they sailed to safety.

His nephew had barely said a word since they had regrouped, and his return to the oasis without Yzako was cause for more than just alarm. Iroh hoped that she was at least alive, but from the look on Zuko’s face, he was beginning to assume the worst. Perhaps it would be best not to mention it, if something beyond his control had happened, but he needed to get the prince to talk about something. 

“I’m surprised, Prince Zuko, that you are not at this moment trying to capture the avatar.”

Zuko was quiet for a moment, staring out at the water. “I’m tired, Uncle.”

“Then you should rest.” Iroh said. “A man needs his rest.”

As he laid down on the raft, Zuko sighed. “I know what you’re thinking, Uncle. And no. She isn’t dead.”

Iroh frowned as he watched his nephew. Perhaps death wasn’t the worst case scenario, then. “What happened to Yzako?”

“She lied, Uncle.” Zuko said, looking up at the sky. “All of it, it was all fake. She was sent to kill me.”

Iroh’s brows knit together in thought. “Who told you this?”

“She did.” Zuko didn’t even want to say her name again. The thought of it made his mouth feel dirty. “She admitted to all of it.”

Iroh closed his eyes, leaning against the mast as he sighed. He wanted to believe that it wasn’t true, but he knew that Yzako had been working with Ozai when they first met her. He also wanted to believe that Ozai wasn’t capable of ordering his own son’s death, but he could remember the rumors that he had tried to throw Zuko over the palace wall as a newborn. Iroh could also remember his younger brother demanding that their father, Azulon, named his second son the crown prince rather than his eldest, though Iroh had been mourning the loss of his own son at the time. 

Whether Yzako had truly meant to carry out her mission or if she had abandoned it, Iroh hoped that wherever she was, she was alright. She really had seemed to love Zuko, but now, with her missing and her intended target very much present and very much in need of guidance, there was little Iroh could do about the situation. 

“Get some rest, nephew,” he said. “You will need it. We have a long journey ahead of us.”

\---

“Ah, Yzako,” a cruel voice echoed through the room. 

Yzako was shoved down onto her knees, spears pressing against her neck and back as she was forced to bow. She could recognize the polished floors of the palace and the heat of the throne room, and she raised her lip in a snarl. The trip back from the north pole had been blurry, and she could only remember the way that she had dipped in and out of consciousness. She had no doubt that she had been knocked out or poisoned whenever she managed to wake up again, and she had to give a shred of credit to her captors for finding a way to subdue her for so long. 

“It’s so good to see my favorite little dragon again.” Ozai said. 

“Let me go,” Yzako growled, daring to look up at him. 

The Fire Lord was sitting on his throne, hands in his sleeves as he looked down at her. “It seems you are far too difficult to catch for me to simply free you again, Yzako. I thought I could trust you. You’ve disappointed me.”

“Let me go!” she shouted. 

“Tell me, why, exactly, couldn’t you find it in yourself to simply obey your orders?” Ozai asked. 

She was silent, gritting her teeth angrily. Her limbs were bound behind her back, and her entire body was aching. She was in no position to fight her way out; even if she could get past the guards surrounding her, she would never make it out of the palace alive.

“You will answer me, Yzako.” the flames around Ozai’s throne rose dangerously as his tone grew sharp. 

“She fell in love, father,” Azula said coldly, stepping out from the shadows near Yzako’s right side. “Admiral Zhao’s men and the man who captured her confirmed it.”

“What are you doing here?” Yzako snarled, lunging towards the princess. 

A sharp tug on her chains pulled her back, leaving her neck and shoulders even more sore. 

Azula just laughed, walking through the flames to sit at her father’s side and look down at the prisoner. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world,” she smiled. 

“Azula is here because I have ordered her to do what you cannot.” Ozai said simply. “When the time comes, she will track her traitorous brother and uncle down and kill them.”

“Then what are you doing with me? Keeping me as a pet?”

“Oh, Yzako,” the Fire Lord chuckled. “Don’t you remember my promise, all those months ago?”

Yzako narrowed her eyes. 

“I told you that should you fail, you will be punished in ways you could never even imagine. Unfortunately for you, it seems that time has come...but first, I thought you may want to see the man who was brave enough to capture you and bring you all the way here, from the north pole.”

Her brows furrowed. She had heard the voices of Zhao’s men the few times she had woken up, but she hadn’t cared to give any thought as to who had actually been leading them. As the large doors behind her opened, she heard footsteps, and as their visitor stepped around her to bow before the throne, Yzako’s eyes widened. 

“I believe you are already acquainted with Lieutenant Yang,” Ozai said. 

The man turned to look at Yzako, and she let out an angry shriek. It was that same infuriating man from Zuko’s ship, the one she had burned in the corridor and who had come to taunt her on Zhao’s ship just before the siege. “You!”

He smirked. “The Fire Lord has rewarded me with a promotion. What do you think?”

“I’ll kill you!” she snarled, lunging towards him with twice the strength she had afforded her attempt to reach Azula. The men holding her chains struggled to keep her back, their boots sliding across the floor as she desperately tried to pull herself towards Yang. Her muscles were screaming in protest, and after only a few moments, she gave up. One of the spears at her throat had drawn blood, and as she slumped in defeat, it ran down and stained her golden collar. 

“Yzako, the palace will be your home once again.” Ozai announced. “Take the rest of your day to ponder your actions and your fate. When I see you next, I’m sure only one of us will be worse for wear.”

“What? No!” she screamed, kicking as she was pulled to her feet. “You can’t do this to me!”

“I can, and I will.”

“No! Let me GO!” she spit angry fire, tears running down her cheeks as she was yanked back. “I want Zuko! GIVE ME ZUKO!”

Ozai just smirked. Oh, she would have the chance to see her dear prince again. “My son cannot save you, Yzako. He is a traitor.”

“You’re wrong,” Yzako hissed. 

“Where is he, then? Where is the avatar? Zuko spent years wasting time and resources. He is a failure in the eyes of the throne and the Fire Nation.”

“No he isn’t!”

“I do not wish to speak any further,” Ozai said with a frown. “Remove this whelp from my sight.”

The guards dragged her away, leaving the splendour of the throne room behind as they took her down to the royal prison. There was nothing left for her to do but fight...but even then, what was the point? She was weak, clawing at nothing, her fire barely warm enough to burn. Her captors weren’t concerned, handling her easily on their trip down to the dungeons.

As they slammed the door and left her alone in a cold cell, she curled up in the corner. She wanted to believe that she needed to go find Zuko, but she knew he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Only a week before, her life had been fine, it had been nice...and now, everything was destroyed. Zhao had truly taken everything from her, and he wasn’t even around anymore. 

She was left with nothing, no hope, no warmth, nothing but her own rage and sadness to keep her company. 

Up in the throne room, Ozai was smiling to himself. 

“Father, what are your plans for the Golden Dragon?” Azula asked, looking up at him. “It seems a waste to simply torture and kill her, as much as I take pleasure in the thought of her screams.”

“You’re quite right as always, Azula.” Ozai chuckled. “As much honor as there is in killing a dragon, our family has never quite seen their full potential. I will break the Golden Dragon, until she bends to my will. Yzako will become the weapon she was meant to be, with no distractions this time.”

Azula grinned, her eyes alight with the fire that surrounded her. “How will you do it, father?”

“All in good time, Azula.” Ozai’s chuckle quieted. “All in good time.”


	30. End of Book I Author's Note

First and foremost, I want to give a big thank you to everyone reading this! If you've made it this far into my fic, I can only hope that means that you're enjoying it. I want to give an even bigger thank you to everyone who's bookmarked, left kudos, and ESPECIALLY to those who have left me comments and reviews. I love reading them so much, and they're so motivating! This is the longest fic I've ever written, by a LOT, and also my favorite. ATLA means so much to me, and it has ever since I watched it when it originally aired on Nick. Now that it's on Netflix and I can watch it whenever I want (without needing to buy DVDs or seasons on Amazon lol), my love for the series has only gotten stronger and stronger. Between writing this and working nonstop on an Azula cosplay, ATLA has basically consumed my life...and I'm not mad at all! 

I'm really happy to see that so many people like Yzako. When I started writing her story, I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it or where it would go--all I knew was that I wanted to do a darker, aged-up Zuko/OC thing, and I wanted to find a way to have a really unique and memorable main character. I don't even remember how I came up with the dragon idea, but the concept for Yzako and Kul's situation is definitely based off of Yue's story. We've seen a lot of different ways that spirits in the ATLA world can live on earth, and in Korra we even got to see some possession...but I don't think there are any instances of a spirit sticking around in quite the same way that Kul has. I'm still exploring his story, but we'll definitely be learning more about him in future chapters! 

Speaking of future chapters...it's gonna get a little dark for a few. Just like Book I, Book II will continue to follow the events of the series, but with Yzako now in the hands of the Fire Lord, there will be some torture. I don't want to go into graphic detail with it, and I'll have more notes about it whenever it comes up, but just something to keep in mind if that kind of thing bothers you! Things are going to get kind of heavy and dramatic, and we've gotten just the tiniest taste of that so far. Book II will begin right after this note, so buckle up! As always, I'm always around to reply to comments, answer questions, and check out any suggestions anyone might have! I have a good idea of what I'm doing plotwise, but if there's any fun little things you think might be nice to throw in, I always love hearing your ideas! 

Again, thanks so much for sticking around for so long. I'll see you in the next chapter!


	31. Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Book II! I have literally never written a fic this quickly. I initially wanted to wait a couple days to post this, but I've already finished a few chapters past this and all of your nice comments at the end of Book I really motivated me! So strap in, get a snack, hydrate yourself, remember to unclench your jaw and let's gooooo
> 
> CW: There is some torture in this chapter. Nothing super graphic, just something to keep in mind!

Yzako had briefly thought that she could simply withstand whatever the Fire Lord had planned for her. Knowing that she was strong and had endured years of harsh treatment from the fire sages, she had decided that she would wait it out, maybe pretend that the punishments had worked, and then run free the first chance she got. If she hid within herself and meditated, then maybe everything would be okay.

She hadn’t expected the beatings to be so brutal. 

There was no way for her to tell how many days passed. All she knew was that she was kept in the dark, in chains, sometimes forced to stand up until her knees gave out. Sometimes she hung by her wrists. Sometimes she had to kneel. If she had thought the sages were good at keeping her uncomfortable, she had been dead wrong. Ozai’s punishments made her wish she were back in her cell at the temple, back in her old life before she had ever had the misfortune of hearing the name “Prince Zuko.”  
The chains were heavy, leaving her neck and arms constantly sore. The first few days, she had screamed and cried, the fire leaving her mouth the only light in her otherwise dark prison. When she grew tired of that, she just shouted at the top of her lungs, yelling out for Iroh, for Zuko, for anyone or anything who would listen. 

Nobody ever came.

She didn’t even see Ozai, only the guards who tortured her. Whenever she was shackled to the ceiling or wall, she was beaten, adding to the collection of scars on her back. When she could no longer feel the sting of their whips, they moved on to burning her, taking great joy in leaving red blisters on her skin. They got creative in their torture, growing just as tired of it as Yzako did, and by the end of the first week, she was left bloody, broken, and bruised, hardly conscious. 

They starved her, only offering her enough food and water to keep her alive. She was given scraps, leftovers from someone else’s meal. Her stomach had nearly refused it the first few days, threatening to make her vomit it all back up. By the fourth day, though, she was so hungry that it didn’t matter how rancid or stale it was, and she greedily accepted the warm, stagnant water they offered her. Memories of the delicious meals the ship’s cook had prepared plagued her mind, and often, all she could think about was a fresh, savory fish or an entire haunch of Komodo rhino. 

She felt like she was turning into a feral animal. Whenever her hands were freed so that she could eat, she leapt toward her food, scarfing it down before anyone had the chance to take it away. In her mind, Kul was just as desperate, little more than a starved beast reverting to his survival instincts. Though he didn’t need to eat, his spirit was hungry, lacking the usual energy it received from Yzako when she was healthy and well fed. He growled and roared around her, but with both of them in such a broken state, there was little he could do to help Yzako escape. 

All Kul could really try to do was cushion the blows and shield her from the pain of torture. Sometimes, when he was thinking clearly, he could lull Yzako into some kind of meditation, calming her, cooing to her. He did all he could to help, but with such little hope, he was at a loss. There were times when Yzako’s mind refused to ignore what was happening to her body, and she was forced to remain painfully aware of the lashings, no matter how hard Kul tried to calm her down.

When it did work, though, she thought of sunny fields and blue skies that stretched on forever. She thought of how it felt to hold someone’s hand, their fingers laced through hers. She thought of looking up at a familiar face, one that was growing blurrier and blurrier with each passing day. His scar always remained crystal clear, though...that beautiful, awful scar that took up half of his face. Where was Zuko, she wondered? Did he miss her? Was he thinking of ways to free her, just like he had when Zhao had captured her the first time? 

Whenever she opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening, she hoped she would see the Blue Spirit. She fantasized about being whisked away, rescued by her banished prince. They would go find some remote village together where they could live happily and be free to grow old. They could leave the Fire Nation behind, forget the war and the avatar and whatever else they wanted to. 

But he was never there. 

She would just lower her head and wait for the pain to begin. She would remember the look on his face and the way he had recoiled. He wouldn’t even let her touch him. He had been disgusted when he looked down at her, his face twisted. Her fault, it was all her fault...she had lied to him, hadn’t she? If she just hadn’t lied, she wouldn’t be in a prison. If she had just done her job, she would be free. 

If she had killed him, she would be happy.

As time passed, her happy memories of Zuko faded. She was left with only that look of abhorrence that he had given her, his accusations ringing in her ears. He hated her. She had been stupid enough to love him, and he hated her. 

Somehow, her tired, heartbroken mind realized that this was all Zuko’s fault. He had made her soft, made her fall in love with him, just to abandon her at the last minute. He was probably off chasing the avatar again, free of the girl who had distracted him for so long. She was just a good lay, a way to get his dick wet when he was bored. He had never said that he loved her, even when she did, because he didn’t.

He never did.

The days went by, and her beatings continued to get rougher and rougher. Whenever she proved that she was still surviving, they increased in severity until she was little more than a bloody pulp. When her body finally fell limp, she hid away in her mind, with the only friend she ever really had: 

Kul.

His spirit was keeping her alive, the only reason she was clinging to life. She barely had any energy, her heartbeat faint, her skin cold. Kul was doing everything he could to keep her from falling into the darkness completely, and when she was finally allowed to emerge from the darkness of the dungeon, the Fire Lord was shocked by what he saw. 

“Have you not been feeding her?” He asked in mock surprise as the guards threw Yzako down in front of him. 

She was barely awake and hardly recognizable. Her hair was dull and messy, she was dressed in dirty rags, her skin was pallid...but Ozai had expected all that. He was fully aware of how they had been treating her down in the prison, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. He needed Yzako to believe that he was her savior, the light at the end of her tunnel. 

However, he was genuinely surprised to see that she had grown claws.

“This is unacceptable!” He snapped at the confused guards. “Find a handmaiden, have her draw a bath at once. The Golden Dragon was to be shown the error of her ways, not beaten within an inch of her life! Go, go!”

They quickly dragged her back out of the throne room, and Ozai smiled to himself. Yes, Yzako had finally been broken. In a few short weeks, he had done what the sages had failed to do in years. All that was left was to gain her trust, and the dragon girl would become an indispensable tool in the war. He wanted her to hate the men who had beaten her directly, not the man who had given them the orders to do so. The wild look in her eyes showed him that she was still strong, somewhere inside, and there was a good chance that he would be able to nurse her back to health and then send her into the world once more. 

The addition of thick black claws growing from her fingers, though, and those serpentine eyes that she had gained during her time away...those were welcome changes. Ozai knew little of the spirit world, but after receiving reports of an actual, physical dragon attacking Admiral Zhao, he had done what reading he could. He consulted the fire sages, as useless as they were, and came to the conclusion that the Golden Dragon was growing stronger and stronger.

What better time to train it? 

Yzako barely noticed the bath that she was given, even when she sank down into the steamy water. She was so weak, her mind having sunk so far in such a short amount of time that she hardly knew what was real and what was a daydream. The warmth was welcome, but part of her doubted that it was anything past a fantasy. It had to be something she was making up to cope with the horrors she was living with now.

She was taken to a bed, her legs shaking as she stumbled into it. The bedding was soft, and the moment her head hit the pillows, she was nodding off. Who had saved her from the dungeons? Why was she sliding over silk sheets now instead of laying on the cold ground that she had grown used to?

She didn’t really care. All she knew was that when she finally opened her eyes a few days later, she finally felt like she had gotten actual rest. A familiar woman entered the room, the same one who had attended Yzako during her first stay at the palace. What was her name? Jen? Jin? Yzako could barely remember anything before a few weeks ago, much less several months past that. Maybe she had grown so used to the pain and the torture that she had started to forget her brief bout of freedom on Zuko’s ship...it all felt like she had gone straight from living at the now-destroyed temple to shivering in prison. 

Jin watched Yzako sadly. She remembered the girl’s earlier stay at the palace perfectly clear, and the Golden Dragon whom she had initially waited on was far different from the broken creature lying before her now. Trying to keep her composure at the sight of so many scabs and bruises, Jin drew a hot bath, pampering the dragon girl before getting her dressed to visit the Fire Lord. 

Yzako didn’t say a word the entire time, her eyes dull as she stared straight ahead. She barely made a sound, simply letting Jin move her as if she were a doll. Kul felt relieved to be back out of the dungeons, but he was barely paying any attention. The dragon, just like Yzako, had been suffering while her heart and soul seemed to be breaking. Did he even remember Zuko, or anything that they had gone through? He was damaged, and he was angry. As Yzako’s hair was combed and pulled into a topknot, Kul finally let himself rest, slipping into sleep. His girl was at least safe from the beatings for the moment, and he was exhausted from all of his efforts.

When two guards appeared at the door, Yzako walked with them willingly. She stumbled a few times, still trying to get used to stretching her legs again. The fine robes she had been dressed in were weighing her down far more than they ever had before, and when she reached the doors to the Fire Lord’s dining room, she breathed a sigh of relief. She would be able to sit down again soon. 

“Ah, Yzako,” Ozai greeted when she walked in. He was kneeling at the table alone. “Come join me.”

She looked around, confused. The scents of dozens of foods reached her nose and she began drooling as she looked at the feast already laid out before the Fire Lord. What was all of this? She was still dazed and out of it, but the longer she stayed awake, the more her mind was returning. Why was Ozai offering her dinner after so many days of suffering?

As she sat across from him, she stared at the Fire Lord. His face was blank, offering no hints as to what he was up to. The room was warm, the cushions beneath her comfortable...and the food just in front of her was making her stomach growl. She could see roast duck, komodo rhino, platters covered in fish, sauces and rice and things she didn’t even recognize...it was grander than any feast she had ever seen, and without waiting for permission, she lunged forward and grabbed a drumstick. 

Ozai watched, a small smile growing on his face. “You must be famished, Yzako.”

She spared him a glance, tearing through the meat as if she had never eaten before. Her teeth sank through to the bone, scarfing it down as if someone was about to snatch it away again. 

“I am truly sorry for the way you were treated in my prison.” Ozai continued, trying not to show his disgust at her behavior. He was playing a tricky game, and if she noticed even the slightest wrinkle of his nose or ill timed frown, Yzako could turn her back on him entirely. Then what? He would be forced to put her down, and what a waste of a good dragon that would be. 

He cleared his throat, getting her attention. She looked up at him, licking her lips. His face wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t angry...and that made it the nicest face she had seen in weeks, aside from Jin. 

“My intention was to show you the error of your ways, not simply beat you for the sake of beating you.” the Fire Lord lied. “Now, after seeing what has happened to you, I wish to apologize for the actions of my men.”

The Fire Lord was apologizing to her? It was foolish to think that he meant it, but Yzako didn’t care. Ozai was right to apologize for what had happened. 

“You are a dragon…a powerful, honorable beast of legend. While in my palace, you will be treated as such, from this moment onward.” Ozai spread his arms. “Now please, enjoy this feast I had the chefs prepare for you, and let us dine together.”  
Without a second thought, Yzako returned to the food before her. She dove in, grabbing handfuls of steamed clams and fried octopus, savagely devouring smoked sea slugs and hippo-ox tails. The soup she slurped was divine, the mushrooms she swallowed were perfect, and by the time she was finally full, she was feeling something like...happiness? Contentment? 

For the first time in weeks, she wasn’t suffering. She was enjoying a hot meal, with someone that wasn’t causing her pain. Ozai was simply eating across from her, albeit in a much more patient and refined manner, and as he began to make small talk, Yzako almost felt as if she hadn’t been tortured for days on end. 

Almost.

Whenever she moved, her body ached, and she was reminded of the pain she was in. Reaching for more food made her wince, and while Ozai acted like he didn’t notice, he was pleased to see that she had been treated so harshly. She deserved it for her insolence. When he had received news that she was doing nothing more than sailing with Prince Zuko, the Fire Lord had been furious. She had strayed from her task so quickly, making it clear that the fire sages had done a horrible job at training her. She was a killer, meant to become a weapon for the Fire Nation, and once she was in fighting shape once more, she would return to training with Princess Azula. 

After dinner, they bid each other goodnight. Yzako was visibly more relaxed and happier, and Ozai retired to his chambers very pleased with himself. He was eager to see how she recovered, and what kind of thoughts he could put into her head. He would train her, just like he had trained Azula. Yzako would rise from the ashes and be reborn, and she would show the world why they should fear the Golden Dragon. 

\--

Yzako grew stronger and stronger with each passing day. Ozai made sure that she was pampered, and the relief of no longer being down in the dungeons was making her mind easy prey for the Fire Lord. He was friendly to her, ensuring that he was the kindest face she saw every day, and as a result, Yzako was beginning to trust him. After all, he had given the order to remove her from her prison cell, and he was the one sending healers to take care of her now. She had her daily hot baths, her choice of jewelry and fine robes, and three massive meals a day...if Ozai ever hinted that he was up to anything nefarious, Yzako was too distracted to see it. 

She trained with Azula daily, her rage intensifying with the constant exercise. Azula was quick, so Yzako got quicker. Azula was strong, so Yzako got stronger. Azula’s fire burned hot, so Yzako’s burned hotter. Kul was relishing the chance to fight, even if only in practice matches, and with every passing hour, both he and Yzako were becoming more and more sure of themselves again. It felt good to be back to work. 

It felt good to have a purpose beyond being beaten.

Yzako and Azula treated each other as allies, though both were wary of each other. Azula wasn’t used to having someone like Yzako around, someone who could match her pace and push her to do better. If Azula were capable of actually having friends, perhaps in another life that’s what she would have started considering this dragon girl to be. With no other young noble women to spend time with, the two found themselves sometimes walking together in the evenings after training all day. Yzako didn’t hate her conversations with Azula, and her strength kept the princess’s smart mouth in check when it came to subjects like Zuko. 

“You know, Father really has been kind to you after all you’ve done,” Azula said as they strolled through the gardens. “I’ve seen him kill advisors for far less.”

Yzako frowned. “I regret failing him.”

“As you should.” the princess hopped up onto a low stone wall, balancing on it easily as they continued on. “You know, you were briefly considered a fugitive. You’re lucky he saw your value and demanded that you be brought back home alive.”

“I am lucky.” 

Azula looked down at her. “You certainly learned a few things while you were on the run, though. I must admit, you’ve kept me on your toes.”

“Do my ears deceive me?” Yzako grinned as she looked up at her. “Was that a compliment?”

Azula paused, her face scrunching. “Don’t let it go to your head, dragon. I’m only being nice to you because you’re a guest here.”

“Of course.”

The princess huffed and continued walking. “At least you’re back to being useful again. It was beyond boring with you down in the dungeon all the time.”

“I wouldn’t call my time there boring, but this is certainly preferable.” 

As they passed a small pond, Yzako looked down at her reflection. Yes, the fresh air and the lack of abuse was definitely better. Her face was recognizable again and her mind was clear enough to see it. Most of her bruises had faded, and her eyes were bright. She was less of a terrified beast now, and more of a rage-filled monster. The crimson and gold sparring uniform she wore had been tailored perfectly for her, a simpler golden band securing her topknot so that her nicer crown wouldn’t get needlessly damaged.

“Admiring your reflection?” Azula stepped up next to her. “I can’t imagine you’ve had much of a chance to do that lately.”

Yzako glared at her. “Would it kill you to stop bringing up my torture every five sentences?”

Azula just shrugged and kept walking. “It’s not my fault that’s the most interesting thing that’s happened around here lately.”

Yzako snorted and followed the princess. “I can tell you’ve missed me.”

“In a way. It’s frustrating, not having anyone else worthy of my time and energy to spar with. Everyone here is subpar, and there are very few people in this world whom I don’t consider to be a waste of space.”

“You flatter me.” Yzako said sarcastically. 

“Ugh, don’t make me regret my words.” Azula rolled her eyes. “With Mai and Ty Lee gone, it’s been impossible to find anyone who can keep up.”

“Wow, you actually have friends?”

“I suppose that’s a word for them.”

As they continued walking, Yzako watched Azula out of the corner of her eye. The princess was cold, calculated, and vicious...but she was pretty much the only companion that Yzako was permitted to have. When a servant came to fetch them for dinner with the Fire Lord, the two walked together, only parting when it was time to change into more formal clothing. Yzako was settling into palace life, thanks in part to Azula’s company, and somehow, she was actually beginning to enjoy the time they spent together. 

\--

“Where’s Azula?” she asked one day as she and Ozai had tea together. She had been speaking more and more each day as she grew more comfortable with the Fire Lord, learning to enjoy his presence just as she had Azula’s.

Ozai lowered his tea cup from his lips. “Princess Azula is currently sailing in pursuit of fugitives who would threaten our comfortable lives here.” 

“Is she going to kill them?”

“No, no,” Ozai said. “She is merely going to retrieve Prince Zuko and Iroh.”

Yzako snorted angrily, some steam leaving her nose. Ozai smiled at the sight. He had barely even breached the Zuko subject with her, but it seemed he hardly needed to push her to hate his banished son. 

“How do you feel about Zuko, Yzako?” he asked, raising the cup to his lips once more. 

She was silent for a long moment, pausing to think. How did she feel about Zuko? She barely remembered the nice nights they had together, all his gentle touches and kisses...those memories were all replaced with a burning, albeit misplaced, anger. 

“I think…” she began slowly. 

Ozai’s eyes narrowed as he watched her. Perhaps he had been incorrect, and she needed more breaking. The love she seemed to feel for Zuko was strong enough that she still clung to it, even if only by the tiniest of threads...a pathetic love, one that the Fire Lord could never allow. If Zuko had been less of a disappointment, then perhaps he would have welcomed their union; but his son was a disgrace, as he had been from the moment of his birth. If Yzako were to ever take a husband, Ozai would only allow the most powerful firebender to make a union with his prize dragon. 

“...I think I hate him.” 

The Fire Lord concealed his pleased smile by sipping his tea. As he watched her sitting across from him, he saw Yzako looking down at her lap, as if she were troubled. So there were still some doubts in her mind...he would correct them. 

“And why is that?” Ozai asked, finishing his tea. When Yako was silent, he continued for her. “Is it perhaps because he took advantage of your mercy?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. 

“Or because he strung you along? What did Zuko promise you, Yzako?”

“A good life.” she sniffled, gripping her teacup tightly. “A comfortable life.”

“Did he profess his love for you?”

“...No, he didn’t…”

“Zuko has been a blemish on our family records since the day he entered this world. When he was born, he was weak. I planned to cast him from the palace and dispose of him that night.”

“You should have,” Yzako suddenly growled.

Ozai chuckled. “You are right to hate him. Prince Zuko has done nearly irreparable damage to you, hasn’t he?”

She nodded slowly.

“And you want to see him suffer for it, as you have suffered.”

She nodded again.

Good, good. She understood what she needed to do, she just hadn’t admitted it out loud yet. The Golden Dragon’s fury was there, bubbling just below the surface. Ozai wanted nothing more than to release it and watch what it could do, see what kind of war machine Yzak could become. 

“Look at me, Yzako.”

Hesitantly, she raised her head. The narrow slits of her pupils met Ozai’s eyes, and as she stared at him, she couldn’t understand why Zuko had claimed to hate his father so much. Why had she even thought that the Fire Lord was so bad? She couldn’t remember, and it didn’t matter anymore.

“You will be great. You will burn this earth in the name of the Fire Nation.”

“When?” she asked bravely, unable to tear her eyes from his.

Ozai thought back to the first time he had ever encountered the little dragon girl, and the way she had refused to bow to him. She had held his gaze steadily then as well, something very few people could manage. Yes, she deserved to go out and destroy everything in her path, didn’t she? All she needed…

“Soon, Yzako. I will unleash you upon this world once more, and you will be great.”

She nodded, finally breaking their eye contact to sip her tea. 

...Was a little nudge.


	32. The Hunt Begins

“Ah, this is what I’ve been missing,” Iroh said happily. He was lying on a stone table, two men massaging his back. “Who knew floating on a piece of driftwood for weeks with no food or water and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one so tense.”

When he received no response, he turned his head to the side. Zuko was sitting in the archway of the courtyard, his back turned. The prince had been quiet for days, refusing to speak of the events at the north pole. Iroh couldn’t blame him; his nephew had just gone through a harrowing ordeal, and his soul had to be hurting. 

The old man motioned for the masseurs to stop and climbed to his feet, wrapping up in a light pink and red robe he had discarded before his massage began. He made his way over to sit near Zuko, noting the way the prince wore his rice hat to cover his face. 

Ah, his scar…

“It’s the anniversary, isn’t it?” Iroh asked gently. 

“Three years ago today I was banished.” Zuko said coldly, eyes still lowered. “I lost it all. I want it back.” he looked up at his uncle, his amber eyes angry. “I want the avatar. I want my honor. My throne. I want my father not to think I’m worthless enough to kill.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t!” Iroh said quickly. “Why would he have banished you in the first place if he didn’t care?”

Zuko glared at him and stood, walking away. He didn’t have the patience for his uncle’s nonsense. He had just spent over a month sailing on something that could hardly be considered a boat, with no one but Iroh as company and nothing but his mind to deal with. All he did was think about Yzako, wonder if she was alive, and wonder if she had meant it when she said that she loved him. 

There was no doubt that she had been taken back to the palace, but he wasn’t sure of her fate past that. After a few days at sea with only his uncle’s proverbs to listen to, Zuko had begun regretting the things he had yelled at her, and the thought of some of her final living moments being spent looking up at him like that….

He didn’t like thinking about it. 

Returning to their small rental house, he sat down on his bed. Thoughts of Yzako had plagued his mind nonstop. He was so...confused. Confused about her, about what she had admitted to, about how he felt about everything. He had grown so comfortable with her and let her see him at his most vulnerable, and it seemed like it had been a mistake. Part of him was convinced that she had done nothing but toy with him, using him for her own sick fun. She hadn’t been on the ship when Zhao had blown it up to try to kill him, and maybe that was on purpose. Maybe she had been involved with it. 

He had barely even gotten to know her. A few months at sea together didn’t count for much. But...the time they had spent had been so good, so comforting...did any of it mean anything? He had no idea. He was sick of not knowing. 

He was sick and tired of the world. 

After hours stuck in his thoughts, when he saw that the sun was setting, Zuko sighed and got up. His uncle had yet to return, and the old man was probably wandering around collecting something stupid that he didn’t need. When Zuko found him on the beach with a pouch full of seashells, he grimaced and just turned, leading Iroh back up to the house. They didn’t have time for this nonsense. They needed to...well, they needed to do something, or go somewhere, or get something done. Zuko was sick of waiting around when he could be doing literally anything else. 

“Look at these magnificent shells!” Iroh said, dumping the contents of his bag out onto a table just inside the door. “I will treasure these keepsakes for years to come.”

“You don’t need any more useless things!” Zuko snapped. “You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now.”

“Hello, brother. Uncle.”

Zuko froze at the sound of a familiar voice. Looking past his uncle, he saw Azula sitting in the corner, examining more of Iroh’s shells. 

“What are you doing here?” Zuko narrowed his eyes, stepping towards her. Azula’s presence rarely meant anything good. 

“In my country, we exchange a pleasant ‘hello’ before asking questions.” she tossed one leg over the other, looking at the shell in her hand. “Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?”

“Don’t call me that!” Zuko snarled as his sister stood and made her way over to face them. 

“To what do we owe this honor?” Iroh asked, bowing his head. 

“Hm. Must be a family trait.” Azula said. “Both of you are so quick to get to the point.” as she spoke, her hand clenched around the shell she was holding, snapping it. 

Iroh narrowed his eyes. His niece certainly hadn’t changed in their years apart. 

“I’ve come with a message from home.” she brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Father’s changed his mind. Family’s suddenly become very important to him. He’s heard rumors of plans to overthrow him. Treacherous plots.”

She was staring into Zuko’s eyes, straight into his soul. Why did Azula always have this uncanny ability to make him so uncomfortable?

“Family are the only ones you can really trust.” she looked away. “Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home.”

His father...wanted him home?

“How is that possible?” Zuko asked quietly. “Father...tried to have me killed.”

Azula’s eyes narrowed. Ah. So Zuko knew about that. It was nothing a little stretching of the truth couldn’t fix, though. “Yzako spoke to him. She made him see the error of his ways.”

He looked up quickly. “Yzako is there?”

She smirked. Her brother had certainly gotten himself very attached to that dragon girl, hadn’t he? This would be far too easy. “Of course she is. She’s waiting for you, Zuko.”

The prince turned towards the window, watching the sun as it fell lower and lower. Could it really be true? Had Yzako advocated for his return home? Maybe...he could still have that perfect life with her. 

“Did you hear me? You should be excited. Happy. Grateful.” Azula said when her brother didn’t respond quickly enough. Her voice was sticky sweet, as kind as she could make it while dealing with Zuko. “I just gave you great news.”

“I’m sure your brother simply needs a moment--”

“Don’t interrupt, uncle!” she snapped. Folding her arms, she turned to stand next to Zuko. “I still haven’t heard my thank you. I’m not a messenger. I didn’t have to come all this way.”

“Father regrets?” Zuko asked, ignoring her. “He...wants me back?”

Azula was nearing the end of her patience. “I can see you need time to take this in. I’ll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening.”

As she left, Zuko just continued staring out at the sea. It almost sounded too good to be true, but...if Yzako had pulled through, maybe she actually had been sincere. Maybe she really didn’t want to kill him. Could he really live out the perfect life he had been dreaming of since the day he left the Fire Nation? Coming home, regaining his honor and his throne...and finally apologizing to Yzako for everything he had said. 

He smiled. Finally, he was catching a break. Things were going to be okay. Everything would go back to normal. The universe was smiling on him, giving him a chance to make everything right after years of working towards his goals and doing what his father had asked. Turning to his uncle, he saw that Iroh had a thoughtful look on his face...but Zuko didn’t care. All he cared about was returning to his country and his own bed again. 

“We’re going home!” he said later that night as he packed. “After three long years...it’s unbelievable.”

“It is unbelievable,” Iroh muttered from his place at their small table. “I have never known my brother to regret anything.”

“Did you listen to Azula?” Zuko asked, looking across the room at him. “Father’s realized how important family is to him. Yzako made him see. He cares about me.”

“I care about you!” Iroh rose to his feet, facing his nephew. “I mean...if Ozai wants you back, well...I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine.”

Zuko’s expression darkened. He turned before his uncle could glimpse the angry look on his face, but his tense shoulders were still clearly visible. “You don’t know how my father feels about me. You don’t know anything!”

“Zuko...I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem.”

“I think you’re exactly what you seem!” Zuko suddenly turned. “A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man who’s always been jealous of his brother!”

Iroh’s face fell as his nephew turned away to continue packing. He was used to this treatment from Zuko, but it was never easy to hear such harsh words from someone he cared so much about. Perhaps it was true, and Yzako had pleaded and begged Ozai to spare his son. If anyone could be capable of it, Iroh supposed it would be the Golden Dragon...though he wasn’t so sure what to think about her role in everything anymore. He could remember the look in her eyes the first night she had boarded their ship; she was frightened, confused, and on the run. Iroh had thought she wasn’t capable of completing the task his brother set before her, and it seemed that at least in that regard, he had been correct. 

He hoped that Azula had been telling the truth, but Iroh knew how unlikely that could be. Was Yzako even really alive? If she was, was she still in one piece? Ozai was ruthless. If anyone could torture a dragon, it was the Fire Lord. Perhaps going along with Zuko would be best after all; he could keep his nephew safe, and discover Yzako’s fate for himself. 

As the night wore on, Iroh retired to his bed, Zuko doing the same soon after. The prince’s dreams were plagued with thoughts of Yzako, and their happy reunion waiting just around the corner. How was she? Did she miss him? What had she said to convince his father to welcome him back home? He couldn’t wait to see her, to apologize for what he had said at the north pole and to just curl up in his own bed with her. 

Morning couldn’t come soon enough. At dawn, Zuko was up, before Azula even had a chance to make another appearance. He left alone, assuming his uncle wasn’t coming along. Iroh would be perfectly content there on the beach, picking up all his little seashells and getting massages all day. If he wanted to be a stubborn old man, then so be it...though when Zuko heard footsteps behind him, he was more than happy to turn and see Iroh with a pack slung over his shoulder. 

“Uncle, you changed your mind!” He called.

“Family sticks together, right?” Iroh ran down the stone steps to meet his nephew.

Zuko just smiled at him, a little relieved that he had decided to come along. He could see Azula’s ship at the end of the pier down below, an inviting sight if ever there was one. He continued on towards it, not glancing back to see the way Iroh glared down at the harbor.

He hadn’t changed his mind about going home…he just couldn’t let Zuko risk it alone. 

As they approached the ship, they saw Azula standing at the top of the gangway. Their path was lined with imperial soldiers, so many that Iroh was growing increasingly suspicious. Zuko, on the other hand, felt comforted by the familiar sight; to him, it was just another sign that they were about to have a safe journey home. 

“Brother, uncle! Welcome.” Azula bowed. 

They both stopped, returning the gesture. The ship’s captain stood in front of them, bent at the waist. As he straightened up, the soldiers closed ranks, forming two long lines behind Zuko and Iroh. 

“Are we ready to depart, your highness?” He asked.

“Set our course for home, Captain.” Azula smiled.

“Home,” Zuko whispered. It was all he wanted, to see his father’s welcoming face and know that he had been forgiven. 

“You heard the Princess! Raise the anchors!” The captain yelled, leading them up the gangway. “We’re taking the prisoners home!”

Silence fell.

The rage on Azula’s face was unmistakable.

“Y-your highness, I—“

The captain was thrown out of the way as Iroh sprang into action, taking the soldiers down easily. He was glad he had decided to come along after all...Azula couldn’t be trusted. There was no telling what could have happened to Zuko.

“You lied to me!” The prince yelled, shoving a soldier into the water.

“Like I’ve never done that before,” Azula rolled her eyes. She turned her back to them, motioning for two of her guards to attack.

Zuko bended their fire away, countering every move while Iroh fought at his back. He was angry, so, so angry. Of course it hadn’t been true. Of course his father hadn’t decided he wanted him to come home. 

Of course Yzako hadn’t saved Zuko's honor. 

He jumped up onto the deck, knocking both guards off their feet. His sister was standing with her back to him, smirking over her shoulder as the fists at his sides lit up with flames. 

“Zuko! Let’s go!” Iroh yelled from the pier.

The prince was busy, though. He ran towards Azula, whipping fire at her. She pushed him away time and time again, her bracers hitting his wrists until he stopped to catch his breath. 

“You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole.” She said, her eyes wide with sick delight. “And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the avatar. Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?”

“What about Yzako?” Zuko yelled. 

Azula scoffed. “She would never defend you or tell Father you deserve anything less than a prison cell.”

Zuko’s face fell and she laughed cruelly. Oh, he was just too easy. He had always been so gullible, so honest and impressionable. It would be endearing if it weren’t so pathetic. 

“Yzako was punished heavily for even wasting time with you.” She smiled. “She blames you for it, of course. She hates you more than anything.”

Zuko yelled in anger, a blast of fire leaving his hand as he reignited the fight. He was fast and angry, forcing Azula to back up towards the bridge. She stumbled back, surprised by how much he had improved in the years since she had last seen him attempt to firebend. Even without landing a hit, he was doing better than he ever had against his sister...until she kicked him back down the stairs. 

When he looked up at her, he was shocked by what he saw. She brought her arms up in two arcs, two fingers pointed outwards on each hand. Lightning crackled between them, and before he had a chance to move, she was preparing to send it straight towards him.

Someone grabbed her arm just before she could do anything, and Azula turned to see Iroh. All of her electricity flowed into him, and he redirected it out towards the distant cliffs with an outstretched arm. With a twist and a kick, he sent her plummeting off the side of the ship and into the water. 

“We must go!” He shouted, running towards the pier with Zuko in tow. 

His nephew followed without a word. Azula had really just tried to kill him...he had no idea she was capable of generating lightning. He had watched his uncle and Yzako redirect it on their ship, but he had never seen anyone actually create their own. Azula had intended to fry him then and there, and his father would have praised her for it.

And Yzako...he couldn’t even think about her. 

They ran through the forest, past the small village they had been staying in. Azula was sure to search for them there first. Was this really it? They were fugitives, on the run from their own flesh and blood? They were...traitors. 

Truly banished. 

“I think we are safe here,” Iroh said, slowing to a stop. 

Zuko bent over, hands on his knees. They were near a river, its current fast and strong. As he looked at his reflection, he hated what he saw. A failure, a disgrace to the royal family, a disfigured fool with no honor left and no one besides his uncle at his side. He was an enemy of the Fire Nation now...not as the Blue Spirit, but as himself. As Prince Zuko. 

No, not a prince; just Zuko.

Gazing at the water, he sighed. He had fucked up. He had failed so miserably, over and over...and now, he knew what he had to do. 

He reached into his pack, pulling out the dagger his uncle had given him as a child. 

“This is really it,” he said, staring at the blade. “This is what we are. Criminals on the run.”

Iroh closed his eyes. “We have done nothing wrong, nephew. But...you are right.”

“My honor...I have to give it up...I have to give it all up if I just want to survive…” Zuko breathed deeply, preparing himself. He raised the knife to his ponytail, and without giving himself the chance to think about it, he cut it off. 

Everything he knew, everything he loved and hoped for...it was gone.

He handed the blade to his uncle, and Iroh followed suit. Together, they held the hair that was so important to the Fire Nation, their symbols of honor and status just sitting there in their hands. Everything had changed so quickly again. There was little chance for a return home in their future now...their only chance at survival was to accept their fate. 

Casting their hair into the water, Zuko and Iroh watched their old lives float away, down a river that was moving too quickly for either of them to possibly withstand. 

—

“She failed?” Yzako snarled, stopping her rapid pacing back and forth to face the throne.

The Fire Lord was reading a piece of parchment that had just arrived via messenger hawk. He peered over it at the angry girl in front of him, looking just as irritated as she felt. “Princess Azula claims that the captain of her ship betrayed their true intentions. Zuko and Iroh have gone on the run.”

Yzako screamed in frustration, flames licking at her fingers. “You promised me that I would have him this week!”

“And you would have!” Ozai snapped. The letter burst into flames in his hand. Azula’s news had certainly put him in a bad mood. He had hoped that his daughter’s message would be nothing more than confirmation that she had Zuko and Iroh in her custody, but it seemed that the two were craftier than he thought. 

Yzako snorted angrily, a puff of smoke leaving her nostrils. She started pacing again, moving with an impatient yet graceful stride. All she wanted was to get her hands on Zuko and make him pay for everything that he had caused. As Ozai looked on, he considered her. She had grown ruthless in the past few weeks, and with Azula gone to hunt down her brother, there was no one who could handle Yzako’s fire. She had maimed several of the guards who made the mistake of trying to train with her, nearly killing more than one right in front of the Fire Lord. If others hadn’t intervened, she would have ended more than one life...and that’s just what Ozai wanted to see from her.

The Fire Lord watched Yzako with narrowed eyes. “You really want to punish him so badly, Yzako?”

“Yes.” 

“Then stop your pacing and bow before the throne.”

She halted, looking at him. He had a serious expression on his face that told her she should obey, and when she finally sank down onto her knees and lowered herself into a bow, he spoke again. 

“You are ready once more, Golden Dragon. Go now, and serve your nation. Join Azula in her hunt for Prince Zuko. Destroy him, and bring me the avatar. Set fire to the Earth Kingdom and any who block your path. Carry out my will and you will be rewarded with more than you could ever dream.”

Yzako raised her eyes, looking at his silhouette behind the wall of flames that always surrounded the throne. Yes, she would obey him, and carry out his will. She would walk out of the palace and into the world much different than the last time he had sent her, and this time...she wasn’t about to fail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scary stuff, huh? Yzako's practically been brainwashed by Ozai, and now she's finally getting a chance to go back out into the world...


	33. Refugees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ZOOMIN through these chapters! I'm just super excited to get to some of the bigger stuff I have planned...plus you guys deserve constant updates! I'm super lucky to be able to write while I'm working from home. I guess self employment has some perks ;) Also, does anyone have any desire for a spotify playlist that I've been making while I write this fic? I'll link it in a future chapter if anybody wants it!

“I didn’t find anything to eat!” Zuko called, stumbling out of the trees. “I can’t live like this. I wasn’t meant to be a fugitive! I’m a fucking prince, not some--some feral beast!” as he tried to dust his stolen Earth Kingdom clothing off, he yelled in frustration. “This is IMPOSSIBLE!”

He and Iroh had been walking for days, sneaking through the woods like common vagabonds. They had only the possessions they could carry on their backs, which, unfortunately, didn’t include much in the way of food. Zuko’s stomach was growling, and he was sick of trying and failing to hunt or gather edible plants. He didn’t even know what kinds of plants were safe to eat, for fuck’s sake! He had spent his entire life learning how to live in a palace where everything was brought to him, and he had never even read about how to survive out in the wild like this. All he wanted was to be able to sit down and have someone else place a warm meal in front of him...but instead, here he was, scrounging around in the dirt. 

“Uncle, what are you doing?” he sighed, looking over at Iroh. The old man was squatting in front of a white flower, stroking his chin in thought. 

“You’re looking at a rare white dragon bush,” his uncle answered. “Its leaves make a tea that is so delicious, it’s heartbreaking...that, or it’s the white jade bush, which is poisonous.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. Iroh had been enjoying their time out in the middle of the forest, still thinking of nothing but tea. He was acting like they were still living comfortably at the palace or on the ship instead of starving all day and gnawing on tree bark to quiet their stomachs. 

“We need food, not tea!” the prince said, turning to leave againn. “I’m going fishing.”

“Hmmm...delectable tea, or deadly poison?” he heard Iroh asking himself. 

Zuko just made a noise of disgust and left the clearing, stomping through the underbrush towards the river they had been following. He couldn’t stand this. The longer they spent on the run, the worse his attitude was getting...and it didn’t look like they would be able to return to civilization anytime soon. He still couldn’t believe that his father had tried to have him killed, but at the same time, he was starting to think that he had always expected it. He should have seen all of this coming. 

When he reached the river, he grabbed a nearby branch and gripped it tightly. He had recently discovered just how bad he was at fishing, failing time and time again to catch anything to cook while on the road. How did commoners manage it every single day, yet he couldn’t? He was still a prince, for fuck’s sake, and a prince should be able to do something as simple as catch a fish for dinner. If Yzako were there, she would be able to do it. 

At the thought of Yzako, his mood soured. He wished he could stop thinking about her, but he just...couldn’t. He saw her in his dreams every night. She was haunting him. All he could see in his mind were images of her smile, that sweet, genuine look of happiness that would light up her entire face. He could still imagine running his fingers through her hair and touching her skin, and the warmth he felt whenever he held her in his arms. 

With a snarl, he threw his branch into the river. He had been an idiot for believing her, and he was still an idiot for wanting her back. Why couldn’t he just let her go? She had clearly moved on. What was she doing all day at the palace now? Azula had said that she was punished, but...she had insinuated that she was still alive. While Zuko wanted to hate Yzako, he still couldn’t bring himself to wish for her death. If everything she had said to him was a lie, it had been a damn good one, and it had made him feel...wanted. 

Zuko closed his eyes, sinking down onto his knees. The riverbed was muddy and cold, but he didn’t care. He had lived through worse. When he opened his eyes again, he looked at himself. With no reason to shave his head now that his ponytail was gone, his hair was beginning to grow back more evenly. It was short and dark, covering his entire head. He looked like a commoner, just some Earth Kingdom refugee with a big scar on his face. 

He hated it. 

He hardly recognized himself. He had thought being banished was bad, but at least then all he had to do was undo his topknot and wear only his ponytail. Now, despite having a head covered in hair, he felt more bald and ashamed than he ever had before. 

As his stomach growled, Zuko straightened up again. He needed to at least try to catch something to eat. On his feet once more, he grabbed another branch and waded into the river, the cool water irritating him and the lack of fish annoying him. By the time he had finally managed to stab something, he was at his wit’s end, and while all he had caught was one tiny fish, he had no desire to try any longer. 

He trudged back to the clearing he had left his uncle in, carrying the branch over his shoulder. He was hungry, his feet were cold and wet, he was tired...at this point, all he wanted was to sit down and not think or do anything for a few hours. 

“Zuko, remember that plant I thought might be tea?” Iroh asked. His back was turned as he continued sitting in front of the white jade bush he had been so intrigued by. 

As Zuko approached, a foreboding feeling began creeping up his spine. “...You didn’t.”

“I did…” Iroh turned, showing a puffy, rashy face. “...It wasn’t.”

Jumping back at the sight, Zuko yelled in horror and dropped his makeshift harpoon. “Uncle!”

“When the rash spreads to my throat, I will stop breathing,” Iroh said nonchalantly, as if he were talking about anything other than a deadly reaction to a poisonous plant. “But look what I found!” he held up a branch with a few clumps of red berries growing on it. “These are pakui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant. That, or makaola berries, that cause blindness…”

“We’re not taking any more chances with these plants!” Zuko snatched the branch away from him, tossing it away into the trees. “We need to get help.”

“But where are we going to go?” Iroh asked, bending to scratch at his chest and legs. “We’re enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation.”

“If the Earth Kingdom discovers us, they’ll have us killed,” Zuko said as he watched his uncle itching at his ankles. 

“But if the Fire Nation discovers us, they’ll turn us over to Azula,” his uncle straightened up again, working on his arms now.

They shared a look. 

“Earth Kingdom it is.” Zuko decided. “Come on. We need to find a road.”

\--

With the wind in her hair and the sun on her back, Yzako could hardly believe that she hadn’t considered herself free the first time the Fire Lord had sent her after Zuko. Maybe her time in prison had changed her perspective, but now, as Kul flew through the clouds, she could care less that she was in service to Ozai. As far as she was concerned, this was freedom enough.

The dragon she sat atop was enjoying it, too; he still appeared ghostly, his scales pale and translucent, but he had been flying for hours and showed no sign of needing to stop. Yzako’s torture had both broken her mind and strengthened it, and now, it seemed that Kul could hold a physical form all day if he was simply flying. 

They had left the morning after receiving Azula’s bad news. Yzako packed a bag of provisions and essentials, making sure to bring all of her favorite shiny jewelry to flaunt while she was out killing Prince Zuko. Truth be told, she couldn’t remember where she had gotten the ruby necklace and ring from; the palace, maybe? She had been carrying them around for so long, and she had pushed so many little events out of her mind that she had no clue if they had been gifts from Ozai or what. She didn’t really care or need to know, though. They were pretty and shiny and she loved them, and that was that. 

As they flew over the Earth Kingdom, nearing the northern Fire Nation harbor village that Azula’s letter had come from, Yzako looked down. The forest was green and lush, nothing at all like the frigid, snowy city she could remember. It was still colder here than in the Fire Nation, but the air wasn’t biting at her toes and cheeks the way it had in the north pole. Instead, it was temperate, growing warmer and warmer as Kul descended towards the Fire Nation ship docked at the pier. 

The soldiers standing around the deck scattered, running for cover as the dragon landed. The only one who didn’t run was Azula, who simply turned to greet them. She eyed Kul for a moment, almost looking impressed. He had never made an appearance during their training at the palace, and though she had heard rumors about the dragon, his actual presence was far greater than anyone had made him out to be. She was glad Ozai had decided to retrain this wayward beast; Yzako and her monster were far too mighty to just waste. 

“It’s about time. I trust Father received my letter?” she asked as Yzako slid off of Kul’s neck. 

“Yes. He wasn’t pleased.” Yzako said coldly.

Azula frowned. “Don’t be cross with me. I did everything right. This fool, however…” she turned, revealing a man kneeling on the deck. He was cowering, his entire body shaking as he looked up at the two women. “...ruined everything and sent Uncle and Zuzu running.”

Yzako looked down at the man. “Who was he?”

At the sound of her past tense, Azula’s eyes lit up. Yes, she far preferred this new Yzako over the lovestruck idiot she had been before her retraining. “He was this ship’s captain. Unfortunately for him, his loud mouth had a little slip up, didn’t it?”

“I-I’m sorry, my Princess!” he stammered. 

“Oh, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” Azula grinned, stretching her hand out towards Yzako. “This is the Golden Dragon. Thanks to your failure, she’s been summoned. Prince Zuko and General Iroh could have simply been brought before the Fire Lord for their transgressions, but now...their blood will be on your hands.”

“P-Please, it was a simple mistake!”

Kneeling down, Azula grabbed the man’s face in her hand and forced him to look past Yzako. “Do you see that, captain? That is a dragon.”

Kul hissed, his mane and whiskers bristling. 

“That dragon has just received orders from my father to hunt down and put an end to Prince Zuko. What a shame that you won’t be able to witness the glory of the Fire Nation once all of these pesky traitors are dealt with.” Azula looked up at Yzako. “Would you like to do the honors, or shall I?”

Yzako’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t want to dirty my hands with this filth.”

“Very well.” 

Without any change in her expression, without a moment of hesitation, Azula’s hands tightened around the captain’s head and she gave a sharp twist. There was a snapping sound before he fell, his body limp and lifeless. A quiet gasp traveled through the onlooking crew, the first mate gulping loudly at the sight of such a quick and brutal punishment. Yzako’s eyebrow quirked up, but she couldn’t find any remorse inside of her. Not for this complete stranger.

She was just glad she hadn’t had to do it herself.

Azula stood and grimaced, wiping her hands on her pants as if she were trying to clean them of his very essence. 

“Perhaps you were right,” she said. “I feel disgusting after having touched him. There’s no substitute for that amount of satisfaction, though.”

“I’m sure.” Yzako folded her hands in her sleeves and looked around the ship. “What direction did they head in?”

“I was thrown into the water just as they escaped,” Azula growled. “Witnesses said Zuko and Iroh ran towards the forest. I haven’t received any reports of them since.”

“So what do you plan to do?”

“I’m going after them, of course.” She clasped her hands behind her back, turning to look towards the green landscape of the Earth Kingdom. “However, I need to recruit some...friends. What about you?”

“I’m going to track them down,” Yzako growled. “With any luck, I’ll find them by the time you catch up.”

Azula just gave a quick nod. “We’d both better be off, then. The Earth Kingdom is large, and they’re surprisingly nimble when they want to be.”

Yzako offered her a quick bow before turning towards Kul. He lowered his neck for her and she climbed on, holding onto his horns tightly as he stretched his wings out and propelled himself into the sky. 

As they flew, staying just above the treetops, Yzako found herself deep in thought. Azula really had no issues killing that man, did she? It was done so quickly and so cleanly that it couldn’t have been the first time she had done something like that. Yzako had killed before, but always in the heat of battle. The execution she had just witnessed felt far different from that. If she were faced with something like that, would she be able to carry it out?

With a grimace, she shook her head. Of course she would. She had failed the Fire Lord once, and she didn’t plan on doing so again. If it came down to killing Zuko outside of battle, she wouldn’t let herself hesitate; besides, did he even deserve an honorable death? She was better off ambushing him and getting it over with quickly. All she needed was to see the fear and recognition in his eyes, and then she would end it. 

Beneath her, Kul rumbled in agreement. He could feel how angry she was, all of her negative energy swirling around and tangling around his spirit. The dragon wanted his girl to feel better, to remove what was bothering her so much before it consumed her. If that meant carrying her along on this journey and making sure she survived, well...he would do it. He had suffered along with her, and he was furious with all of the humans who had treated the two of them so badly. As far as he was concerned, they could all burn up in his flames.

He wanted revenge. 

\--

As he leaned against the wall, Zuko sighed. They had finally managed to reach a small Earth Kingdom village, one that seemed to be free of Fire Nation occupation. It didn’t take long for them to find a healer who could fix his uncle’s quickly-spreading rash, and now he had nothing to do but sit there and watch as a young woman in white and pink hanbok applied ointment to the foolish old man’s wounds. 

“You two must not be from around here. We know better than to touch the white jade plant, much less make it into tea and drink it.” she laughed. 

Iroh chuckled, cheeks red and puffy as he looked back at her sheepishly. Zuko couldn’t believe that they were even in this predicament...but he was glad that his uncle wasn’t going to die. As much as Iroh annoyed him, he had been a constant companion and guide for the past three years, and Zuko had no desire to simply let him wither away so easily. 

“So, where are you traveling from?” the healer asked. 

“Yes, we’re travelers!” Zuko said quickly, standing up. 

“Do you have names?”

“N-Names?” Zuko swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice even. Shit, they hadn’t even talked about their new identities, or what they would do when someone asked about their past. He couldn’t just go around telling everyone that he was a banished Fire Nation prince, could he? “O-Of course we have names. I’m...Lee, and this is my uncle, uh...Mushi?”

Iroh glared at him for a second before looking back at the healer with a smile. “Yes, my nephew was named after his father, so we just call him junior.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. Oh, that was low.

“Mushi and Junior, huh?” the woman looked over at Zuko with a pleasant expression. “My name is Song. You two look like you could use a good meal.” she paused to swat at Iroh’s hand as he began itching his chest. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?"

“Sorry, but we need to be moving on.” Zuko looked away towards the door. Being out in public like this was making him anxious. They were just one false step away from being arrested, or worse. 

“That’s too bad.” Song sighed. “My mom always makes way too much roast duck.”

Iroh perked up. “Where do you live, exactly?”

Zuko groaned. He should have known Iroh would never turn down a free meal. At the sound of his own stomach growling, he had to admit that he wouldn’t mind some roast duck, either. 

“It’s settled, then,” Song laughed, soaking a rag in medicated water and wringing it out. “Just a bit more of this, and you’ll be good as new, Mushi.”

“Thank you for your help, Song,” Iroh said. “I fear that without your skills and knowledge, I would already be lying in a heap somewhere.”

“Well, what good is being a healer if I don’t help some weary travelers now and again?” she stepped back, smiling. “We’ve been seeing more and more like you coming through this way.”

“Like us?” Zuko asked, bristling. 

“My nephew is still adjusting to the refugee life,” Iroh said with a calm smile. “It is not easy, living on the road.”

Song’s expression softened even further. “I’m sure it is. You two must be very tired, too. You deserve to rest for at least one night.”

As she finished up with Iroh, Zuko just continued watching with narrowed eyes. Is that what they were now? Refugees from the Fire Nation? It wasn’t a total lie, he supposed. They were on the run from the royal family, even. It still felt wrong, though. Maybe his uncle was right, and he just wasn’t used to it...or maybe it pissed him off. 

As night fell, Zuko and Iroh followed Song to her nearby home. She ran on ahead, pulling her mother aside as she began setting their outdoor table. The older woman’s face lit up, smiling brightly as she walked back inside to find more dinnerware. Iroh led the way up to the house, bowing to Song’s mother as she set the table. 

“Your daughter has been most kind to my nephew and I,” he said as he straightened back up. “I can only hope that we are not intruding by joining you for a hot meal.”

“Please, sit!” Song’s mother said, motioning to the table. “There’s always room for a few more hungry mouths.”

A few minutes later, Zuko and Iroh were kneeling across from Song. There were already bowls full of noodles and broth out on the table, a few cups of tea and a hot kettle waiting for them. As he sipped on his drink, Zuko closed his eyes. This was the first hot meal he had gotten in days, and the closest thing to an actual dinner he had seen since...since dining with Yzako on the ship. 

“What’s wrong?” Song asked. 

He looked up at her. “What?”

“Your expression changed...is something wrong?”

“...No. I’m fine.”

Song just frowned, watching him. “Well, hopefully some good food will help ease your mind, if only for a little bit. 

Iroh sighed. “We have had a long and difficult journey these past few weeks. This will be the first proper meal we have gotten in a long time.”

“My daughter tells me you’re refugees,” Song’s mother said as she brought out a platter of roast duck. “We were once refugees ourselves.”

Song nodded as her mother sat down. “When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our farming village. All the men were taken away.” her face fell. “That was the last time I saw my father.”

Zuko stared across the table at her. “I...haven’t seen my father in many years.”

“Oh…” Song looked down at the table. “Is he fighting in the war?”

Zuko just gazed into the bowl sitting before him. “...Yeah.”

It wasn't a complete lie, but...Ozai wasn’t exactly fighting in the war, was he? He kind of...was the war. 

“I’m sure he’s a very brave man,” Song’s mother said kindly. 

“...Yeah. Brave.” 

“We have had the great fortune of meeting some of the finest warriors the world has to offer,” Iroh said, swooping in to save his nephew. 

Song’s expression brightened. “I’m sure you have many great stories!”

Iroh chuckled, picking up his bowl. “Yes, we do! And I have many more from my youth. One advantage of growing so old is the opportunity to continue meeting new and interesting strangers.”

“It would be an honor to hear some of your stories, Mushi,” Song’s mother said. 

Zuko glared down at his food. Unlike everyone else at the table, he had no interest in listening to whatever watered-down tales his uncle was planning on telling them. He had half a mind to stomp away and go sulk somewhere else for the night, but his hungry stomach kept him in place, forcing him to sit and endure. 

“Well, I may not look it, but I was a soldier in my younger days!” Iroh laughed loudly, patting his stomach. “I traveled all across the Earth Kingdom.”

“Did you ever go to Ba Sing Se?” Song asked excitedly.

“Ah, yes, the great walled city,” Iroh smiled sadly. “It is a magnificent city. One that I hope to retire in, now that my youth is so far behind me.”

Zuko glanced over at his uncle. That was certainly a tame way of saying ‘I laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred days,’ wasn’t it? If they weren’t careful, these people were going to get suspicious of their adventures. 

“Yes, my years of military service and travel showed me many great sights and introduced me to the most incredible people...but some of my favorites have been those from the time I have spent traveling with my nephew.” Iroh looked towards Zuko fondly. 

The prince looked back at him, holding his uncle’s gaze. “Yes, I suppose we’ve...seen some pretty amazing things…and...people….”

Iroh only smiled for a long moment before diving back into his dinner. The others all returned to their food, and they ate in a comfortable silence until nearly every plate and bowl was cleaned. As Iroh helped Song’s mother clear the table, Zuko wandered off to sit against the side of the house, doing little more than staring into the dark trees. Amazing things, and amazing people...had his uncle been trying to force him to think about Yzako more than he already did? 

“Can I join you?” he looked up at the sound of Song’s soft voice to see her standing before him. When he didn’t react, she continued. “I know what you’ve been through. We’ve all been through it.”

Zuko turned his head, looking away from her. No, she didn’t know what he had been through. How could she? He wasn’t some innocent refugee, he was the banished prince of the very nation trying to overtake the Earth Kingdom. His situation was far more complicated than she could ever guess. 

She sat next to him, a bit too close for comfort but just far enough away that he didn’t feel the need to move. 

“The Fire Nation has hurt you,” she said quietly. 

Yeah, that much was true; his own country, his own throne, had deemed him unworthy. The Fire Lord had burned his face. The princess was trying to arrest him, and the Golden Dragon had been ordered to kill him. The Fire Nation really had hurt him, though not in the simple ways that Song was assuming. 

When she reached towards his face, Zuko caught her hand. He could still feel the way Yzako would run her fingers over the snarled skin of his scar, something that he would never allow anyone else to do. He turned his head sharply to look at Song, and part of him had expected to see Yzako’s golden eyes staring back at him. 

No. 

Just Song’s own brown irises. 

“It’s okay,” she said when he let her arm go. “They’ve hurt me too.”

Zuko watched as she pulled up her pant leg. Her calf was covered in ugly burns, too big to have been caused by any household accident. His good eye widened at the sight of something he had only ever seen on himself, something that was far more common in soldiers who received burns in training accidents. Was this normal in Earth Kingdom peasants? Kind healers like Song, who had done nothing wrong to anyone, were actually all covered in burn scars?

“The Fire Nation soldiers who attacked our village were cruel,” Song said, pulling her pant leg back down. “Like I said earlier, I was very, very young when it happened...but I can still see and feel the heat of their flames.”

Zuko returned to staring straight ahead. “I can, too.”

\---

Yzako spent the night sleeping in a cave. She and Kul both needed to rest, the dragon fading away to take a nap while she tried to make herself as comfortable as she could. Her dreams were fitful, full of unpleasant reminders of how whips and chains felt, and when morning finally came, she was more than happy to pack up her little camp and set off once more. 

Kul reappeared, feeling refreshed from his slumber. Yzako climbed back onto his neck, and together they took to the sky in the direction they had been heading. They continued to stay low, flying just above the trees in hopes that it would be easy to spot anything or anyone. When they neared a small village, Kul dipped down towards it. 

When he landed in a rush of heat and wind, people scattered. They gathered across from the dragon, standing close together and looking on in fear.

“We’re looking for two men!” Yzako shouted. “One old, one young with a scar on his face. Travelers.”

When the villagers just looked at her uneasily, she grew irritated. 

“Tell me what you know before I burn this village to the ground!”

“T-two travelers came into town yesterday!” a woman yelled from the crowd. “S-Song healed them. She and her mother live at the far end of the village.”

Yzako’s eyes narrowed. “Where?”

She pointed, her hand shaky. “Th-the last house, at the end.”

With a puff of smoke, Kul flapped his wings and took off again, flying low over the village before landing in front of a small house. Two women were standing outside, the younger one consoling her crying mother. At the sight of the dragon, they both jumped, backing up several steps in fear. 

“Tell me what I want to hear, and you have no reason to be afraid of me.” Yzako said as she slid off of Kul’s neck and landed at his feet. 

“Wh-what do you want?” the younger woman asked bravely, standing in front of her mother. 

“Two men visited you yesterday.” Yzako’s voice was cold. “One had a scar on his face. Where are they?”

“Wh-what do you want with Lee and Mushi?” 

Yzako rolled her eyes. Of course they had given themselves fake identities to sneak around the Earth Kingdom. “They’re wanted criminals.”

The woman’s face fell. Oh, had the poor girl gotten attached to Iroh and Zuko? What a pity. Kul hissed, the sound seeming to spur the older woman into finally speaking up. 

“They took our only ostrich horse,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “They left during the night after we gave them dinner. We have no idea where they went.”

“Of course they’re thieves now,” Yzako sneered, turning back to climb up onto Kul again. 

“Wait!” the young woman called. 

Yzako paused, looking over her shoulder. 

“Wh-what did they do? They’re just refugees, like everyone else around here!”

She threw her head back and laughed. Kul chuckled, smoke and steam leaving his big snout. “You really believed them? What, I suppose they told you fun stories about ‘Mushi’ laying siege to Ba Sing Se for two years, didn’t they?”

Both women gasped, their eyes wide in shock at her words. 

Yzako continued laughing as she pulled herself up to sit behind Kul’s head, looking down at them from between his horns. 

“Don’t look so surprised. They’re enemies of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.” reaching into her pack, she pulled out a small pouch full of gold. “Here. Buy yourself a new ostrich horse.”

She tossed it down, the young woman catching it. She and her mother watched the mysterious woman leave as the dragon took to the sky once more, their expressions confused by what had just happened. Could Lee and Mushi really be thieves? Song had watched them take their ostrich horse and disappear into the night, and now this...she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. 

“Can you believe them?” Yzako snarled to Kul. “Creeping around Earth Kingdom villages, stealing like common criminals...how low.”

Kul growled in agreement, following the only road out of the village. If Zuko and Iroh were on ostrich horseback, they probably weren’t running through the forest unless they were on a trail. They had an entire night’s head start, though, and there was no telling where they could be hiding already. 

“So pathetic,” Yzako spat. “We’re doing everyone a favor by just getting rid of them, aren’t we?”

Kul made a rumbling sound that she took to be in agreement. As Yzako kept her eyes on the ground, looking for a lone ostrich horse with two suspicious riders, she huffed. The sooner she got this over with, the better.


	34. Closer and Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a few days of silence! I'm trying to make up for it by posting my Yzako playlist. It's what I listen to while I'm writing, and I know at least a couple people were interested in checking it out!

“Spare coins for weary travelers?” Iroh asked passersby, holding his rice hat out. 

He and Zuko had reached another village, this one bigger than the last. They were out of food, though, having finished the last of the leftovers Song’s mother had packed up for them. Their ostrich horse was tired from carrying them both, and it was happy to curl up and sleep behind them as they sat on the street begging for money and scraps. 

“This is humiliating,” Zuko growled, watching a carriage pass by. “We’re royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want.”

“Ah, but they will! All you have to do is ask nicely.” Iroh said, a little glimmer in his eye. As a woman in a nice lavender robe approached, he held his hat out again. “Spare change for a hungry old man?”

“Aw, here you go,” she smiled, reaching into her sleeve and dropping a single coin to join the others Iroh had managed to collect. 

“The coin is appreciated, but not as much as your smile!” he said, smiling himself at the sound of her laugh as she walked away. 

Zuko covered his face with his palm. He couldn’t believe this. 

As a man with two broadswords on his back walked by, he paused. “How about some entertainment in exchange for a gold piece?”

“We’re not performers,” Zuko said flatly, unimpressed with the man’s money. 

“Not professional, anyway,” Iroh set his hat to the side before standing. He clasped his hands together before breaking into song. “It’s a long, long way to Ba Sing Se, but the girls in the city, they look so pretty!” 

“Come on, we’re talking about a gold piece here! Let’s see some action!” the man pulled his swords off his back, the blades slicing through the air. 

Zuko looked up in alarm as the man began to strike at the bricks in front of his uncle’s feet, small sparks flying. 

“Come on, dance!” he laughed cruelly. 

“They kiss so sweet that you really have to meet…” Iroh panted, still trying to sing as he jumped from foot to foot in a mock dance, “...the girls from Ba Sing Se!”

Zuko couldn’t look at him. He was gripping his knees tightly, his knuckles turning white with the force. He had never seen something so embarrassing in his life. His uncle, the Dragon of the West, the great General Iroh, former crown prince of the Fire Nation and once heir to the throne...was dancing for measly change on the streets of a tiny, dirty Earth Kingdom village. 

Maybe Ozai was right. Maybe they were disgraces. 

The man pulled his swords back, laughing loudly. “Nothing like a fat man dancing for his dinner! Here you go.” he tossed the gold coin towards Iroh, who caught it before sitting down next to Zuko. 

“Such a kind man,” he said, smiling as he dropped the coin in with the others. 

Zuko felt like he was going to explode.

“That was the most shameful thing I’ve ever seen!” he hissed. 

“Nephew, our lives have changed significantly these past several weeks,” Iroh sighed. “We no longer have the luxuries and conveniences of royal living. Right now, we depend on the generosity of others to make our way in the world.”

“That man made you make a fool of yourself!”

“Perhaps...but, I certainly had fun doing it.” Iroh smiled. “And, that gold piece is worth more than all these copper coins combined.”

“We still have practically nothing.” Zuko slumped back against the ostrich horse. “I never thought I would miss being able to go shopping in seedy harbor markets so much.”

“Ahh, what a lovely day that was,” Iroh chuckled. “I must admit, I do miss that monkey statue! And my tsungi horn...and, nephew, do you remember all that fine ruby jewelry Yzako found? I can still see it shining in the--” at the look on Zuko’s face, Iroh fell silent. “Forgive me, nephew.”

“It’s fine.” he said angrily. 

“I fear that it is not fine,” Iroh’s face held a sad smile. “You may feel better if you talk about it.”

“No.”

“Well, perhaps it is I who would feel better talking about it, then.” Iroh stroked his beard, closing his eyes. “I miss her company, as I’m sure you also do.”

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I have often found myself wondering what has happened to her and Kul,” his uncle continued. “It would seem, at least, that they’re alive.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Zuko said quietly. “You should get back to begging for spare change. I’ll go see if we have enough to buy any food.”

He grabbed a handful of coins from Iroh’s hat before standing. His shoulders were hunched, head down as he walked away towards the food stalls at the market just across the street. His uncle sighed as he watched him go, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Zuko needed to come to terms with what had happened, but it seemed that it was going to take a long, long time for him to accept the events at the north pole. 

The prince wasn’t to be blamed, though; as Iroh had suspected long ago, Zuko loved Yzako. Towards the end of their time journeying together, the two had become inseparable, and Iroh had begun hoping for some sort of ideal outcome for the young firebenders. If they could somehow reunite now, perhaps they could still have a long, comfortable future together. 

Little did Iroh know that that reunion was coming much quicker than he could ever anticipate. 

Yzako was following their trail, forced to continue on foot when both she and Kul grew too tired for the dragon to keep flying. As he rested, she trudged along, refusing to stop for sleep even as the sun went down and the sky grew dark. She was walking along the only road they had spotted, and after several hours on her aching legs, a small town came into view. 

“Finally,” she mumbled, pausing to change her robes and take her hair down. She had set off with some spare Earth Kingdom fashion in tow, just in case she needed to avoid attracting the kind of attention she would in the luxurious golden silks of the palace.  
Dressed in the greens and browns that earthbenders so loved to wear, she pulled her pack back onto her back and entered the town, eyeing the guards stationed at the gates. They only nodded to her and she returned the gesture, stopping to ask one of them for directions to an inn she could spend the night at. 

“The Sleeping Boar is just down the main road,” he answered. “Best prices and softest beds in town. You can’t do any better.”

“Right.” she started walking away, then remembered her manners. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, miss. We’ve seen our fair share of refugees down this way and are doing all we can to accommodate them. Have a nice night.”

She nodded, brow furrowed as she headed towards the inn. Refugees, huh? This would be the perfect place for Iroh and Zuko to stop for food and supplies. No one would pay them any mind, just like the guards hadn’t been bothered by her golden eyes. As much as she wanted to burn it all down until they showed themselves, though, she was getting more and more tired with every step she took. Encountering them now, when she was practically asleep on her feet, would get her nowhere. 

As she neared the inn, movement in a nearby alleyway caught her eye. She turned towards it, expecting to see a beggar or someone being mugged. There were two figures, one sitting on the ground as if he had just been knocked off his feet. The second person was standing over him, bending down to pick up two broadswords sitting on the bricks between them. 

At the sight of the blades, Yzako’s eyes narrowed. Why was this such a familiar image? She took a step forward, then thought better of it and stopped. She had a nagging feeling in her gut, one that she didn’t like. Even though her brain was tired, she was wracking it for any information as to why she felt so close to recognizing this figure and this entire situation, but while she was distracted with that, he tensed. 

He had heard a small sound in the alley entrance, immediately freezing before he turned sharply. When she saw a blue and white mask, Yzako’s lip rose in a snarl. The Blue Spirit. 

Zuko.

It only took him a moment before he was running. Yzako took off after him, skidding around corners as she pursued him...but just as she thought she had him, she realized he was nowhere to be seen. She spun in a circle, catching her breath as she strained her eyes in the darkness, but there was absolutely no sign of him. No flash of a blade, no glimpse of a mask. 

With a frustrated yell, she trudged back towards the inn. Zuko and Iroh were close, but where? How was she supposed to find them without making a scene, anyways? She didn’t want to attract the attention of the guards and risk bringing the fury of the entire Earth Kingdom army down on herself. She was also more tired than ever, and the second she laid down on the cheap bed she had paid for, she was out. 

\--

Zuko watched from a rooftop as the angry girl dressed in Earth Kingdom clothing gave up her search for him. At first, he had thought that she was just a normal passerby, someone out late after a shift serving booze at the local tavern or something. When he had caught a glimpse of her golden eyes, though, he knew that couldn’t possibly be the case. 

When she ran after him, he was more than positive that she was Yzako. 

What was he supposed to do? He wanted to stop and talk to her, but he didn’t even know what to say. He had dreamed of Yzako for weeks, gone back and forth between hating and loving her, wished that he could have the chance to see her again...and now that she was right there, he couldn’t do anything. 

The way she ran after him with her teeth bared, though...that didn’t make him feel very good about the whole ‘maybe she actually didn’t want to kill him’ thing. 

When he was sure she had left the area, he ran back to where he had stashed his things and changed, hiding his mask and the swords he had just taken from that shitty man who had made Iroh dance earlier. Now that he had taken up the mantle of the Blue Spirit again, he would be able to get himself and his uncle whatever they needed without being humiliated out on the street. As much as he wanted to stay in this town and steal whatever he wanted, though, Yzako’s presence was terrifying enough that he knew they needed to move. He had watched her walk off in the direction of an inn, and with any luck, she was fast asleep and snoring in true Yzako fashion. That would give them a few hours to get out of town and find somewhere new to lay low. 

“Uncle, wake up,” he hissed, shaking Iroh. 

“Eh? What?” the old man asked groggily. He and the ostrich horse were sleeping in an alley near where they had spent the day begging, leaning up against each other as if they were as comfy as could be. 

“She’s here,” Zuko said quickly, grabbing the ostrich horse’s reins and giving them a tug. 

“What? Who’s here?” Iroh rolled onto his back as the beast climbed to its feet. “Azula?”

“Worse.”

Iroh’s eyes widened as he realized what his nephew meant, and he was immediately up on his feet. The two climbed onto the ostrich horse, leaving town just as quickly as they had come in that morning. Zuko constantly looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see a dragon flying after them at any moment, but everything seemed as calm and peaceful as ever as they rode into the forest.

“I swear I saw her, Uncle,” Zuko said when they finally stopped. They had been running for a few hours, leaving the main road in favor of smaller paths through the trees. 

“I do not doubt you,” Iroh laid out a bedroll on the ground. He sat down on it cross legged, tugging at his beard in thought. “Perhaps the Fire Lord sent her out again.”

Zuko sat down across from him. “She was...angry. She definitely recognized me.”

“What were you doing out so late in the first place, nephew?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Iroh eyed him suspiciously, but decided not to press any further. “We must get some rest. In the morning, we will set off again.”

Zuko just nodded, but he made no move to lay down. Even as his uncle passed out, he refused to sleep, staring out into the dark trees instead. How had she found them before even Azula had? It seemed like the two of them weren’t working together yet...though he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. He had barely had a chance to look at her, but she didn’t seem like the same Yzako he had spent so many pleasant nights with. Why had she given up so easily, though? She had to have been extremely tired to head straight for the inn after he slipped away from her. 

Zuko pulled his knees up to his chest and sighed. Azula had been telling the truth for once. Yzako hated him, and now she was going after him like she had originally planned to all those months ago. The fact that she had found him so quickly was cause for alarm, though...assuming she had rendezvoused with Azula back in that harbor town, how had she already gotten so close? Even if Azula had given her a komodo rhino or a mongoose lizard to ride, she should be days behind. The only person Zuko could think of who traveled over land so quickly was the avatar, and that was because he was always flying. 

Flying...had she been on the back of a dragon the entire time?

If that were true, he and his uncle needed to stay as low to the ground and under as much tree cover as possible so Kul couldn’t spot them. These Earth Kingdom forests weren’t nearly as dense as the Fire Nation jungles dragons usually hunted over, though, and he had a feeling that the sparse vegetation would only put them at a disadvantage. How had everything gone to shit so quickly? First they were begging on the street, now they were hiding from a giant, fire breathing beast...it was ridiculous to think about.  
That night, he didn’t sleep a wink. 

Yzako, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly in her rented room. Kul was resting happily, his spirit rumbling around her as she drifted in and out of sunny dreams. She had come close to Zuko that night, and there was only so far he could get on foot before she woke up again and set off after him. She was confident that she would catch up with him soon, and have all the revenge she wanted.


	35. Catching Up

Zuko and Iroh had been running for days. They stuck to narrow, long forgotten roads and hunters’ paths, staying low and avoiding going into towns or villages when they passed them. Iroh still seemed to be quite at his leisure, happy to dig up edible plant bulbs to roast for dinner. Zuko was growing more and more frustrated with it, his stomach craving something other than burnt roots that might or might not poison him. After the white jade fiasco, he still didn’t trust his uncle when it came to eating things in the wild...so, to sate his hunger, he turned towards sneaking into towns. 

He donned his Blue Spirit mask and took to the streets, robbing whomever he could. He mostly went after rich men, taking their money pouches and spending their coin on food the next morning. As the days went on and there was no sign of Yzako, Zuko grew bolder, going after bigger and better targets. It was far better than working or begging, and it was beginning to make him feel like himself again. 

“You did some shopping,” Iroh commented as he returned to the cave they were hiding out in. He had his arms full of plants he had dug up somewhere, but as he took in everything that Zuko had set up, he put them down. He sat across from his nephew near their campfire, picking up the gilded tea kettle that was sitting on a platter with the rest of its set. “But where did you get the money?”

“Do you like your new teapot?” Zuko asked without answering him. 

“To be honest, the best tea tastes delicious whether it comes in a porcelain pot or a tin cup.” he sighed, standing again and walking over to his nephew. “I know we’ve had some difficult times lately. We’ve had to struggle just to get by.”

Zuko watched as Iroh sat down next to him. He didn’t want to hear his uncle preaching about why he should be grateful for what scraps they could find on their own. He was a prince, and he couldn’t live off of the generosity of others the way that Iroh seemed to be able to. 

“Struggling is nothing to be ashamed of,” Iroh reached out, placing a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “There is a simple honor in poverty.”

Zuko looked down. “There’s no honor for me without the avatar.”

“Zuko...even if you did capture the avatar, I’m not so sure it would solve our problems. Not now. There is more at stake than just your honor.”

“Then there’s no hope at all.” he turned to move away. 

“No, Zuko!” Iroh caught his arm. “You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road, and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength.”

Zuko turned to look at him. “Hope isn’t going to change what’s happened.”

“Nothing can change the past...but hope can give us the means to a better future.”

A heavy silence fell over them. “Hope isn’t going to catch the avatar or bring back the Yzako I knew once.” 

Iroh’s face fell as Zuko got up to leave. What could he possibly say to that? His nephew was suffering, and there was little he could do to fix things for him. There was no telling how close Yzako was, or if Azula was also coming after them. Their situation was uncertain, and as much as he wanted to believe they would survive, Iroh was nervous about their future. As Zuko left the cave and walked away into the forest, his uncle could only sit and hope that he would stay safe while he was out alone with his thoughts.   
So, he did what he always did in dire circumstances and he brewed some fresh tea. The new set that Zuko had stolen, or bought with money that wasn’t his, was a very nice one indeed. Iroh wasn’t a man to squander gifts, and if this teapot was his now, he might as well put it to good use. He made jasmine tea, one of his favorites, pouring an extra cup for Zuko should he come back and want it. 

Setting the cup down for someone who wasn’t there to drink it reminded him of all the nights he brewed tea for Kul, and he suddenly felt a deep pain in his heart. He had spent much of his time meditating on Yzako, and he still couldn’t convince himself that she had truly betrayed Zuko. He considered himself a good judge of character, having seen and met so many people over the years of his long life, and Yzako’s feelings towards his nephew had seemed to be clear. It was possible that she was an incredibly good actress, but then why waste so much time getting close to the prince? No, it didn’t add up. If she had truly wanted to kill Zuko, she would have made some kind of attempt. 

Iroh thought of his younger brother, Ozai, and closed his eyes. He had always been cruel, from the time they were children. He wanted nothing more than power, and he had shown time and time again that he was willing to do whatever it took to get it. Iroh had watched him tear others down and use them for his own gain, whether they were his wife, his father, the sages...there was nothing that Ozai wasn’t willing to do in order to get what he wanted. There was no reason that he wouldn’t go to extreme measures to utilize the dragon in his possession. 

Iroh only hoped that whatever Ozai had done to Yzako could be reversed. 

“I thought a lot about what you said.” Zuko’s voice suddenly said. 

Iroh was putting the fire out, his back to the cave entrance. At the sound of his nephew’s return, he smiled, turning to look at him over his shoulder. “You did? Good, good.” He turned back to the fire, pleased that Zuko had come back safely and with a much calmer mind.

“It’s helped me realize something.” Zuko continued. “We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together.”

Iroh’s smile disappeared. 

“I need to find my own way.” he leaned down, grabbing his pack of belongings from their place just outside the cave. 

When Iroh made no moves, Zuko just slung it over his back and began walking away. He had expected some kind of argument, but his uncle’s silence only confirmed his suspicions. The old man wanted to live life differently, and Zuko wouldn’t be able to keep him from that anymore. Yzako and Azula were after him, not Iroh, and he could travel faster on his own without his uncle constantly wanting to stop to pick flowers or go to the bathroom. 

“Wait!” 

Zuko turned, a bit surprised to see Iroh running towards him with their stolen ostrich horse. Its reins were exchanged wordlessly, and as Zuko rode away into the night, Iroh could only stand there and watch. His nephew needed this...but it was far too dangerous to let him go off on his own.

Returning to the cave, Iroh slowly began packing up everything that he could carry with him, leaving a few hours later. Following Zuko’s tracks would be all too easy, and if Iroh could do it, that meant any number of bandits or bounty hunters would have no trouble pursuing the banished prince. He made up his mind to keep an eye on his nephew, staying far enough away that he wouldn’t be noticed, but always close enough to help should he be needed. 

As it would soon turn out, Iroh was very much needed.

\--

Yzako woke up in her rented room feeling more refreshed than she had in days. While the bed wasn’t nearly as soft as those in the palace, it was far better than the hard ground she had been sleeping on, and she almost didn’t want to leave. 

Almost. 

She tore through a loaf of bread she had brought along with her, too impatient to stop and buy breakfast. It was already mid morning, and she had a lot of lost time to make up for. When she left the inn, she stopped, examining her options. There was one road into town, and one road leaving. She doubted that Zuko and Iroh would have taken the busier trade road that she had come in on, which left the smaller trail that wound deeper into the forest. 

“Hey, guards!” she called as she neared the gates. “Did two beggars leave this way last night on an ostrich horse? A fat one and a scarred one? They uh...owe me money.”

“Yes, ma’am,” one of the earthbenders nodded. “They left just as I was starting my watch several hours ago. I saw them heading east, down old hunters’ path.”

“Thank you,” Yzako bowed her head. 

“Of course. They’ve been on the streets begging and no doubt swindling the good people of this town. Don’t let them give you any trouble getting your money back.”

“Oh, trust me,” Yzako said, eyes narrowing as she walked away, “I won’t.”

She searched for the small trail he had mentioned, and sure enough, she could see fresh ostrich horse prints. The fools hadn’t even thought to cover their own tracks, had they? Following them was going to be easier than she thought. In just a few hours, she expected to be spotting them running along, helpless and easy to pick off. She hopped onto Kul, and together the two took to the sky filled with confidence and energy now that the end of their hunt was in sight. 

A few hours turned into a few days, Zuko and Iroh somehow staying just a step ahead. They were zig zagging through the forest, leaving behind extinguished campfires for Yzako to find. She was growing frustrated, and coming across wanted posters for the mysterious Blue Spirit didn’t help. How were they managing this? It had to be Iroh’s survival skills that were keeping them safe from her. There was no way that Zuko, a spoiled brat, was the reason Yzako couldn’t catch up. 

Her mood was souring. She should have already caught them. No, Azula should have been traveling back to the Fire Nation with them this whole time. Then this entire hunt wouldn’t even be happening. Yzako had no idea where the princess was, and she didn’t care; Azula hadn’t been much help so far, and she was nowhere to be found. Yzako and Kul would do this on their own, without her help, and take all the glory for themselves.

When Yzako stumbled across a cave filled with stolen food and a fire that still had some glowing embers, she knew she was getting close again. They were nearing the mountains, and if Yzako didn’t catch them while they were still within the safety of the trees, she sure as hell would be able to pick them off the side of a cliff. For the first time in days, she felt a little glimmer of hope, and she allowed herself to sit down and enjoy some of the food that had been left behind. 

The next day, she finally spotted her prey. 

Kul let out a loud roar, tucking his wings in against his body as he dove down towards the trees. He landed heavily, kicking up a cloud of dust as his claws sank into the dirt. He raised his head towards the air, flames pouring from his jaws in a show of power. He was just as excited to shed some blood as Yzako was, smoke billowing from his nostrils when his fire ran out. Yzako jumped off of him eagerly, dropping into a fighting stance as she prepared to take her targets out. This was it, this was finally her chance to complete her mission and kill them.

She only saw one of them, though...and he looked surprised to see her. 

“Yzako!” Iroh said, a wide smile on his face. He was leaning over a fire, a tea kettle hanging from a few sticks he had tied together. “And Kul, of course. You are just in time for some tea. I’m making ginseng. Had I known you would be joining me, I would have brewed one of your favorites.”

His casual tone caught her off guard, but she quickly composed herself. “I’m not here to have tea with you! Stand up and face me so that you can have an honorable death!”

“Or what?” he asked, his smile fading into a frown. 

“Or I’ll kill you where you stand now,” she growled. 

Iroh chuckled. “I do not believe you seriously intend to kill me, Yzako.”

He had never seen such rage on her face before. 

“You don’t?” she snarled, a blast of fire leaving her hand. 

It struck the ground just in front of him and Iroh jumped back. Okay, maybe she intended to kill him, after all. 

“Get up and fight me, old man!” she yelled. 

“Yzako, stop!” he said sternly, standing with his fists at his sides. “I have no desire to do battle with you. Please, relax, and we can discuss whatever is bothering you--”

“Don’t tell me to relax!” Yzako shrieked, lunging towards him. 

Kul stamped his feet behind her, gripping the dirt as he lowered his head and roared at Iroh. The old general braced himself, bending away the dragonfire that threatened to burn him. He was lucky to have the experience that he did, having already felt the heat of Ran and Shaw’s flames when he studied under them briefly. He knew how to handle it...but he feared that if Yzako and Kul reached his nephew, Prince Zuko wouldn’t fare as well. 

“I do not know what happened to you, but your anger is misplaced!” Iroh yelled. 

“No it isn’t,” Yzako growled. “Where’s Zuko?”

Iroh’s expression settled, his brows knitted together as he faced her with his hands ready to counter another attack. “Prince Zuko is gone. I do not know where he is.”

“You’re lying!”

“Yzako, please!” he snapped. “Just take a deep breath, and we will discuss this--”

“I don’t need to calm down!” she shouted.

What happened next was a blur. Yzako jumped forward, surrounded by the flames flooding out of Kul’s mouth. Iroh barely had a moment to react, and when he did, it was purely out of necessity. Incapacitating Yzako was like taking down a feral beast; when he grabbed her arm and twisted it, she continued struggling, wrenching out of his hold with enough force that she could have dislocated her own shoulder. She kicked fire towards him, forcing him to back up as he tried to defend himself. She wasn’t using any standard firebending form that he was familiar with, her movements more similar to what Ran and Shaw had taught him. Yzako was moving purely on instinct, with quick, precise steps that were almost too fast to keep up with. 

“You must stop this, now!” Iroh ordered. 

Her lips drew back in a sneer. This old man wasn’t about to convince her to give up, not after she had come so far. She advanced on him again, getting closer and closer with every movement until she was within an arm’s length away, her hand reaching out to swipe at Iroh’s chest. Her claws tore at the fabric of his clothing, leaving behind ugly gashes and just barely pricking his skin beneath. 

Iroh leaned back, maintaining his solid footing. She was beginning to leave him no choice but to act more harshly, her eyes burning with more fire and anger than he had ever seen in a person. When Yzako moved again, Iroh caught her leg with his and broke her root, delivering a few sharp jabs to her hip and abdomen as she went down. 

She landed hard on the rocky ground, letting out a breathless shout of pain. When she coughed, Yzako could feel warm blood in her mouth, pain shooting through her torso. So, he wanted a fight after all, didn’t he? When she tried to push herself up to face Iroh again, she found her right leg giving out, and she fell once more. She was shaky, her breaths coming in gasps as she looked up at him. 

“What did you do?” she panted angrily. 

Iroh only folded his hands in his sleeves as he looked down at her. He closed his eyes, tilting his face away as if he couldn’t bear the sight. “It brings me great pain to see you this way, Yzako. I do not know what my brother has done to you, but you are not the same person I knew on our travels to the north pole.”

“Because I’m not!” she spat, trying to push herself up again. “I failed him once, and I won’t fail him again!”

Iroh shook his head, opening his eyes again to look at her sadly. “This is not your path. Nor is it Kul’s.” his gaze shifted to the dragon whose head had lowered to brush his nose over Yzako. 

Kul growled at him, huge teeth bared. He stepped over Yzako protectively, one massive leg separating her from Iroh. 

“I-I have to!” Yzako grabbed onto the dragon, pulling herself up to stand against him. “This is your fault! It’s...it’s Zuko’s fault!”

“How?” 

“Because if it weren’t for him, none of this would have happened to me!” she yelled, hot, angry tears forming in her eyes. “You have no idea what I’ve been through. After he left me in the cold. He pushed me away, and...and then….” she squeezed her eyes shut, leaning against Kul. “I have to do this. I want to do this.”

“Yzako,” Iroh said quietly. “Let me help you.”

“No!” she snarled. “All you people know how to do is hurt, and kill, and lie!” As Kul lowered his neck for her, she climbed up onto him, scrambling her way towards his head. “You’re following Zuko’s tracks, same as we are. By the time you catch up, it’ll be too late.”

“Yzako, wait!” Iroh's eyes widened and he reached out for her, but Kul was already taking off into the sky. “Do not do this!”

She and the dragon were already gone, rushing away in the direction Iroh had initially been heading before he decided to take a tea break. This was bad. This was very, very bad, and not just because Yzako was out for Zuko’s blood. He had seen the way she coughed, and he feared that he may have done more damage to her than he had meant. Iroh packed his things quickly, hurrying off after her. Both she and his nephew needed help, whether they knew it or not, and he feared that if he didn’t move as fast as he possibly could, they would kill each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what do you think? Yzako finally caught up with one of her targets, but things didn't exactly go as expected...now she's injured and determined to find Zuko. Is she still healthy enough to take him down, or is this going to throw a wrench into her plans?


	36. Zuko Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up lol

In his time alone, Zuko was more miserable than ever. The rocky hills he was traveling through were desolate, the roads narrow and the villages few and far apart. He hadn’t seen much in the way of life, save for a man and his pregnant wife resting near a campfire. The smell of their dinner made him realize how hungry he was, but as much as he wanted to rush down and take it from them, he couldn’t. They would be left just as starved, and they probably deserved the meal far more than he did. 

So he rode on, exhausted and disheveled. His ostrich horse wasn’t faring any better, wobbling on its feet as it began struggling to carry Zuko’s weight. With no fresh water nearby and no signs of anything edible, things were beginning to look grim. How many days had he been traveling? Zuko couldn’t remember. The sun was high and hot in the sky, the ground was dusty and dry, and as he drank the very last drop of water in his skein, he felt more despair than hunger. 

He was an idiot. Did he really think he could survive out on his own? He had no idea what he was doing, and no skills that would actually help. All he knew how to do was fight, and that was only useful if he had an opponent…and at this rate, if Yzako or Azula found him, he wouldn’t even manage to hold his own against them. The buzzards would get to him before they did, and then they could just drag his corpse back to Ozai. 

His body and his mind were both tired. The ostrich horse was stumbling along, and Zuko’s eyes were closing of their own accord. He couldn’t manage to stay awake, not with such little hope left. All he wanted to do was sink into sleep and stay there forever. As he swayed, nearly falling, he saw darkness creeping around the edges of his vision. Everything was blurry, his hands slipping out of focus as he looked down at them, and when his eyes finally shut all the way, he saw a figure in the darkness. 

His mother. 

She was standing there, smiling over her shoulder at him, her face as kind as ever. 

Zuko’s eyes snapped back open, and for a moment, he hoped to see her there in the sun...but there was nothing. Of course there wasn’t. No one was coming to his rescue, and if he was going to survive, he had to keep going. 

Just as he was nodding off again, though, a welcome sight came into view:

A village. 

Zuko had never been happier to see a dirty little Earth Kingdom settlement. It was nestled amongst amber fields, a little cluster of houses surrounded by a few watchtowers. He kicked the ostrich horse on, and soon, they were walking amongst the villagers. A small group of Earth Kingdom soldiers were clustered in the shade, playing a dice game. When Zuko passed by, he noticed the way their officer looked up at him with narrowed eyes. 

Great. He had already caught their attention. 

He guided the ostrich horse to a small merchant stand, sliding off of it. When his feet hit the ground, he stumbled, his legs tired and unused to carrying him. The merchant just watched him, seeming concerned, but he said nothing. Zuko could still feel the eyes of the soldiers boring into his back as he tied his mount to a post and walked over to the front of the stand, digging in his pockets for his money. 

“Could I get some water, a bag of feed, and something to eat?” Zuko asked, holding out what few coins he had left. 

“Not enough here for a hot meal.” the merchant shrugged a bit, looking almost sad. “I can get you two bags of feed, though.”

Zuko sighed. At least his ostrich horse could eat. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the soldiers finally turned back to their game, seemingly uninterested now that they saw how poor he was. What was going on in this town? The merchant looked like he was watching them, too, albeit more nervously. Whatever that officer had his men doing, it couldn’t be very popular with the locals. 

At the sound of laughter, Zuko looked down to see that a few raggedy children had appeared. They were hiding just around the corner of the merchant’s booth, giggling to themselves as one lobbed what appeared to be an egg at the soldiers across the street. When it hit one in the head and broke, the children vanished, and Zuko was left to deal with the aftermath of their little prank. 

He turned back around, waiting for the merchant to bring his bags of feed. At the sound of the men standing up, his shoulders tensed, but he didn’t move. 

“Hey!” one yelled. “You throwin’ eggs at us, stranger?”

Zuko heard them approaching him, but he still refused to turn and face them. “No.”

“You see who did throw it?”

Zuko’s lip raised, his hand moving to the twin swords at his hip as he finally turned. “No.”

The soldiers were all holding spears, save for the officer who stood in front. Two hammers hung from his belt, one on either side of his hips. 

“That your favorite word?” he asked. “The egg had to come from somewhere.”

At the sound of the merchant returning from his store room, Zuko turned back around again. These men weren’t worth his time and energy. “Maybe a chicken flew over.”

“Here you go, sir,” the merchant said, setting two bags of grain on the counter. 

As Zuko reached for them, the officer shoved him out of the way and grabbed them for himself. 

“Thanks for the contribution,” he laughed. “The army appreciates your support.” 

Zuko’s hands tightened into fists at his sides. He wanted to burn this man to a crisp then and there, but he wanted to stay inconspicuous. These men outnumbered him, and he didn’t need the entire town going after him just when he had finally found a place he might be able to sleep for the night. 

“You better leave town,” the officer said as he tossed the feed to one of his men. “Penalty for staying’s a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me.” he patted one of the hammers at his side. 

As they walked away, Zuko just stared. So much for feeding his ostrich horse. Now they were both going to starve. 

“Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation.” the shopkeep said. “But they’re just a bunch of thugs.”

Without a word, Zuko headed back to his mount. He clearly couldn’t stay here, with the local military threatening him like that. He had nothing to back himself up, no money left, and nowhere to go but back to the road he had been traveling along. 

“Thanks for not ratting me out!” one of the children appeared on the other side of the ostrich horse. 

Zuko rolled his eyes, climbing onto his steed and spurring it on. He had absolutely no desire to speak with this little cretin. 

“I’ll take you to our house and feed your ostrich horse for you!” the boy said, grabbing onto its halter. “Come on, I owe you!”

Before Zuko had a chance to respond, the ostrich horse was trotting along with the child, eagerly following the promise of food. They were taken to a small farm just outside the village, all manner of livestock squealing and snorting at them as Zuko hopped down and walked for himself. Maybe the promise of a meal wouldn’t be too bad, even if he was relying on the kindness of strangers instead of his own mettle. 

“No one can ever sneak up on us!” the boy said as the wooly pigs and moo-sows only grew louder. 

Zuko snorted. “No kidding.”

As his newfound friend led his ostrich horse away, Zuko was suddenly stopped by a middle aged man. His eyes were tired, his beard thick but unkempt...but his face, while dirty, was kind. 

“You a friend of Lee’s?” he asked. 

“This guy just stood up to the soldiers!” Lee yelled, running out of the barn he had disappeared into. “By the end, he practically had them running away!”

“Does this guy have a name?” a woman appeared, coming to stand next to the others. 

A name? Zuko hadn’t thought about that, and there was no way he was still going to let himself be called junior. “I’m...uh….”

“He doesn’t have to say who he is if he doesn’t want to, Sela.” the man said as he put his hands on his family’s shoulders. “Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms.”

“The real soldiers are off fighting the war,” Sela said. “Like Lee’s big brother, Sen Su.”

Lee looked up at Zuko, a sheepish smile on his face. So that’s why the village seemed so desolate and the soldiers could take advantage of everyone...there was nobody around to stop them. 

“Supper’s going to be ready soon,” Sela gestured towards their small house. “Would you like to stay?”

“I can’t,” Zuko said quickly. “I should be moving on.”

The family all glanced at each other, and he suddenly had the feeling that they were going to be doing everything they could to convince him to stick around. He didn’t want to get caught up in things, though, or stay in one place too long. These people had no idea who he was or what was coming after him, and with any luck, they would never have to find out. 

“Gansu could use some help on the barn,” Sela said. “Why don’t you two work for a while, and then we’ll eat?”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He needed to get going...but he also needed to eat. His ostrich horse could use the rest, too. With a slight nod, he agreed, soon finding himself up on top of the barn Gansu was trying to put a roof on. The prince had never done any sort of building work before, and he couldn’t say that he enjoyed it; the hammer was loud every time it struck a nail, his back was hurting from hunching over, and his hands were already sore. He also had no idea what he was actually doing.

“You don’t seem like you’re from around here,” Lee commented from his spot at the top of their ladder.

Zuko paused and shook his head. 

“Where are you from then?”

“Far away.”

“Ohhh. Where are you going?”

“Lee, give it a rest.” Gansu interrupted. “Stop asking the man personal questions, got it?”

Lee sighed dramatically. “Yeah…”

Zuko returned to driving nails into the shingles. This child should know better than to bother someone so much, especially when they looked and carried themselves the way he did. These people hardly seemed bothered by his demeanor, though. Why weren’t they put off by him? He could remember a time not too long ago when his very presence sent his entire crew scattering. 

“So, how’d you get that scar?”

Lee’s sudden question caught him off guard and his hammer slipped, hitting the edge of his thumb instead of the nail. Zuko let out an angry snarl, leaning back to shake his hand in an attempt to lessen the pain. He was seconds away from blowing steam out of his nose or throwing sparks, but as Gansu spoke up, he remembered his head. 

“It’s not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. The man’s past is his business.”

And just like that, Lee’s father was back to work. 

Was it really so simple? Zuko had a hard time imagining that these people would let him slip past so easily. His past, oh, his past...as he swung his hammer harder, he could recall time he spent in the gardens with his mother, and the way she was always so calm and gentle when she fed the turtle ducks. She would dip a manicured finger into the water, attracting their attention before offering a few small pieces of bread. She was always so kind, and the animals loved her for it. 

Zuko, on the other hand, picked up bad habits from Azula. He would watch the way his sister threw entire loaves of bread at the turtle ducks, seeing her laugh about it when they quacked and squawked and swam away. Their mother would never tolerate it, eventually banning Azula from visiting their pond altogether. 

Instead, the princess would spend her time on the other side of the garden, playing with Mai and Ty Lee. Zuko could still remember the time his mother had made him go join them, and he and Mai had ended up falling into a fountain together. Azula and Ty Lee just stood there and laughed, giggling meanly and making comments about how cute they were together. At the time, Zuko had blushed fiercely, stomping away to go change into dry clothes before listening to his mother read a letter from Uncle Iroh at the warfront. 

He could still remember its words. 

“If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you all may see it someday...if we don’t burn it to the ground first. Until then, enjoy these gifts. For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the outer wall. Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship. And for Azula, a new friend. She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls.”

Azula had hated the new doll Iroh had gifted her, reeling back in disgust as she held it. “If uncle doesn’t make it back from war, then dad would be next in line to be Fire Lord, wouldn’t he?”

“Azula, we don’t speak that way.” Ursa had said sharply. “It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn’t return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of perfect health.”

“How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted dad to die?” Zuko had asked as he stopped playing with his new dagger. 

“I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than his royal tea loving kookiness.” then, Azula had set her new doll on fire, and Zuko could still recall the sight of her standing there in the palace with it. 

A man’s past is his business...is that why Iroh had been able to change so much after his failure to take Ba Sing Se? Back then, he had been a powerful and capable general. Everyone had respected him, and now...he was seen as nothing more than what his mistakes had surmounted to. He was completely different, in so many ways. Was that what Zuko’s future held? Nothing but tea and shame and regret?

He didn’t like thinking about it. 

When Gansu was satisfied with the progress they had made on the barn, he led Zuko back down the ladder and they both headed inside. The dinner Sela had prepared was delicious, similar to the one that Song’s mother had shared with Zuko and Iroh. An array of Earth Kingdom foods covered the table, bowls of noodles and broth and plates of pork and chicken all set out for the family and their new guest to enjoy. 

“You both worked hard today,” Sela said as she filled her bowl with noodles. “You deserve a good, hearty meal.”

“Thank you, Sela,” Gansu smiled, mimicking her. When Zuko didn’t move, he spoke again. “You too, stranger. You’ve earned it.”

Zuko picked up his chopsticks hesitantly, his growling stomach giving his hunger away. “Thank you.”

“Wow, you must be starving!” Lee piped up. 

“I am.” he said as he picked up a few dumplings. 

“You must have been traveling for a long time.”

“Yes, I have been.”

“I bet you’ve got some great stories!”

Zuko looked at the boy. Stories, it was always stories with these people. He didn’t have any that he could tell without giving his past and his identity away. There weren’t any folktales he knew that weren’t from the Fire Nation, no Earth Kingdom songs or legends that he could recite. He wasn’t as well traveled or as eloquent as his uncle. He had nothing to share with them. 

“Lee, what did I tell you earlier?” Gansu asked. 

Lee sighed, looking down at his plate. “It’s not nice to bother people. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Zuko said, nibbling at his food. It was delicious, the best thing he had had to eat in days. It nearly brought tears to his eyes. 

When she saw how happy her cooking was making him, Sela smiled brightly. “Please, have as much as you’d like! There’s more than enough to go around.”

Zuko swallowed, feeling more and more like Iroh as his appetite grew. “Thank you.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Gansu said, his expression warm and welcoming. “Eat your fill. I’m afraid we don’t have any extra beds, so you’ll have to sleep in the hay tonight. It’s warm, at least, and out of the weather.”

Zuko just nodded. He couldn’t complain about anything they offered him, no matter how much he craved the silk sheets of his own bed. After dinner, Gansu showed him to the hay barn, and as the prince laid down, he was almost ashamed of how comfy he was. He dozed, slipping in and out of hazy dreams that he could never remember, only fully waking when he noticed that Lee had snuck in to take his broadswords from where they hung on the wall. 

He found the boy outside in the field, trying to practice with them. Lee was clumsy, swinging the blades around haphazardly before stabbing them into a tree stump. 

“You’re holding them all wrong.” Zuko said, standing with his arms folded over his chest. 

Lee jumped, stumbling back and tripping. When he righted himself, he approached Zuko with a guilty look on his face, handing the swords over to their owner. 

“Keep in mind, these are dual swords.” Zuko said, taking them. “Two halves of a single weapon.” he backed up several steps, swinging them easily. “Don’t think of them as separate, because they’re not. They’re just two parts of the same whole.”

Holding the blades felt good. He hadn’t gotten a chance to train or practice in weeks, and now, as he was finally able to run through a few simple exercises, he felt far less weak and useless than he had as of late. When he turned back to Lee, he presented the swords to him, the boy’s face lighting up as he held them. 

Zuko taught him some easy steps, and before long, he seemed to be getting the hang of them. He was a quick learner; if he had been born in the Fire Nation, there was no doubt that he would have become a successful weaponsmaster. Instead, he was an Earth Kingdom farm boy, his only teacher a banished prince. 

When they began heading back towards the farm, Lee spoke up again. “I think you’d really like my brother, Sen Su. He used to show me stuff like this all the time.”

“He must be a good fighter.” Zuko said, staring forward. 

“He is! He’s the best Earth Kingdom soldier there is!” Lee ran forward a few steps, punching and kicking into the air. “He’ll beat the Fire Nation on his own, I know it!”

Zuko frowned. Right. For a moment, he had almost forgotten that he was in hiding from his own country and that everyone around him would hate his real identity if they ever found out who he was. 

That night, when he finally fell asleep, his dreams were filled with memories of Yzako. He could feel her fingers on his chest, gliding over his skin and leaving him feeling warm. As much as he wanted to hate her, he just couldn’t...not with dreams like these. Her eyes were so bright and full of life, her lips full and oh so kissable, her hair long and glossy. The way she looked at him set Zuko ablaze, and when he woke up, he swore he could smell the faintest hint of scorched silk. 

But no. He wasn’t in the palace, or on his old ship. The hay beneath him wasn’t a bed, and the pigster crowing outside was his only companion. Why couldn’t he simply forget her, leave her in the past and run away until neither she nor Azula would be able to ever find him again? When he glimpsed her in that village several days ago, her eyes weren’t the same, and her face wasn’t nearly as inviting. She was angry, angrier than he had ever seen a person, and even though he could tell how tired she was in that moment, he was certain that she would have torn him apart if she could. 

Not long after waking, he was sitting on his ostrich horse, ready to depart once more. He had wasted too much time in one place. He didn’t want to drag these people into anything they didn’t deserve...and very few people deserved to see their homes burn in dragonfire. 

“Here, these should get you through at least a few meals,” Sela handed him a small basket full of food. 

Zuko reached for it, but paused at the sound of heavy footsteps. His head shot up towards the road, his entire body tense. He expected to see komodo rhinos headed by an entire dragon, but instead, the only things that appeared were several shitty Earth Kingdom soldiers on a flock of ostrich horses. 

“What do you think they want?” Gansu growled. 

“Trouble.” Zuko answered. 

“What do you want, Gow?” Gansu asked as the soldiers approached them. 

“Just thought someone ought to tell you that your son’s battalion got captured.” the officer leading the little group of bullies sneered. “You boys hear what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?” 

“Dressed ‘em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put ‘em on the front line unarmed, way I heard it,” one of his men laughed before spitting on the ground. “Then they just watched.”

“You watch your mouth!” Gansu snapped. 

Gow’s face darkened and he spurred his ostrich horse on. Zuko’s own mount stepped out in front of him, though, blocking the way. He held the man’s gaze steadily. The prince was used to far worse than some useless soldiers who weren’t even good enough to go fight in the war. Gow was a far cry from Azula or Yzako. 

“Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?” Gow sneered, turning around and leading his men away. 

As Zuko watched them go, he hung his head. If Su Sen had been captured, he was as good as dead. Just like when his own cousin, Iroh’s son Lu Ten, had been killed by Earth Kingdom soldiers while trying to take Ba Sing Se, only...on a different side of the war.

“What’s gonna happen to my brother?” he heard Lee ask. 

“I’m going to the front.” Gansu said. “I’m going to find Sen Su, and bring him back.”

Zuko could hear Sela’s cries of anguish, but he couldn’t bring himself to watch as she and Gansu walked back towards their home. The pain of losing a family member was deep, and if his uncle’s entire change of heart after Lu Ten’s death was any indication, it was even deeper when it was a child. 

“When my dad goes, will you stay?” Lee asked quietly, looking up at him. 

“No.” Zuko said. “I need to move on.”

As the boy looked at the ground, the prince pulled something from his belt. It was one of the only things he had managed to save from the explosion that nearly took his life at the north pole. 

“Here. I want you to have this.” he leaned down, offering the sheathed dagger to Lee. “Read the inscription.”

He took it, pulling the knife out. “Made in Earth Kingdom.”

“...The other one.”

“Never give up...without a fight.”

When Lee looked up again, Zuko was disappearing down the road. The dagger had been gifted to him by Iroh, and he had spent days doing little more than practicing with it. Azula had called him stupid; in her mind, blades were useless when she could simply firebend, and as far as she was concerned, Zuko was bad at both, just like their uncle was a failure and a quitter.

“A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground,” she had said. “Not lose the battle and come home crying.”

That very night, after being dragged to a meeting with Fire Lord Azulon, Zuko discovered that his mother was missing. Soon after, Azulon was dead, and Ozai was being crowned Fire Lord...and he had seen Yzako for the very first time. The little girl who had stood up to his father and refused to bow before him, whose eyes were so bright and curious, who had grown up into such a raging force of nature. So much had happened to her since back then, so much good and bad and things Zuko couldn’t even come close to guessing. 

Maybe Azula had gotten to her, and that’s what had changed in her eyes. They were both ruthless, two powerful killers capable of nearly anything. The only difference was that one had lightning, and the other had a dragon. 

Later that day, after a few hours of walking and thinking, Zuko was surprised to hear Sela’s voice. She had caught up with him as he lounged near a small stream, allowing himself a short moment of rest before continuing on. 

“It’s Lee! The thugs from town came back as soon as Gansu left. When they ordered us to give them food, Lee pulled a knife on them.” she jumped down from the small ostrich horse-pulled cart she had brought. “I don’t even know where he got a knife! Then they...took him away, they told me if he’s old enough to fight, he’s old enough to join the army.” tears sprang from her eyes. “I know we barely know you, but…”

Zuko couldn’t bear to watch a woman cry. Plus, he was itching for a fight. 

“I’ll get your son back.”

If Zuko had known what was headed towards the village, perhaps he would have chosen to head further into the mountains to draw it away from the few good people he had just spent the past day getting to know. Instead, he ran right to it, walking into town without an inkling of what was about to come. 

“Hey, there he is!” Lee yelled. The boy was tied to a watchtower in the middle of town, eagerly leaning towards Zuko as he rode in. “I told you he’d come!”

As Zuko hopped off of his ostrich horse and left his hat sitting on the saddle, he saw the so-called soldiers all beginning to stand and approach him. The sun was setting, a red-orange glow settling over them as both parties met. 

“Let the kid go.” Zuko said. 

Gow just laughed. “Who do you think you are, telling us what to do?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am.” Zuko glared at him. “But I know who you are. You’re not soldiers, you’re just bullies. Freeloaders abusing your power, mostly over women and kids. You don’t want Lee in your army. You’re sick cowards, messing with a family who’s already lost one son to war.”

Gow was speechless for a moment before he spoke again, turning to one of his men. “Are you gonna let this stranger stand here and insult you like this?” 

The man shook his head, jabbing a spear towards Zuko. He was easily disengaged with the hilt of Zuko’s swords, a strong hit to his ribcage sending him flying back. When the next thug attempted the same thing, he met a similar fate, his skull smashed into the ground. Both ran in the opposite direction as the third gave a loud shout, stabbing at Zuko with another spear. The prince just gave it a well-timed kick, the tip breaking off. 

As the final man ran away, Zuko was left to face Gow. A small crowd of townspeople had gathered to watch, their faces all bright. This was the first time anyone had stood up to these bullies in months, and they were finally being taught a lesson.   
Zuko watched as Gow reached for his hammers, pulling them from his belt and swinging them. He put up more of a fight than the other three combined, tossing rocks that Zuko barely had time to stop with his own weapons. The crowd was cheering him on, filling him with confidence. But without his fire, he was at a disadvantage. When Gow slammed his hammers into the ground, it erupted, a small shockwave traveling through the earth and throwing Zuko off of his feet. His head struck the dirt sharply, his vision going black for just a moment. 

He swore he heard a familiar roar as blood rushed in his ears, but all he could see was his mother waking him in the middle of the night. 

“Zuko, my love, listen to me,” her words swam around him dreamily. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done to protect you.”

He could feel her embrace as she pulled him into his arms, though she seemed far away. 

“Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.”

He had been sleepy then, woken in the middle of the night by a mother he never got to see again. Now, though, he was filled with a burning rage, his eyes snapping open to see Gow looming over him. 

No. 

The prince of the Fire Nation wasn’t about to die here. 

The sky seemed darker suddenly, but as he grabbed his swords, Zuko didn’t notice. Fire spread from his hands and along his blades, turning into a whirlwind as he swung them. Gow was tossed back by the blaze, Zuko’s shoulders heaving as he stood in the middle of an inferno. Oh, it felt good to burn again. 

Gow stood once more, ready this time as Zuko ran towards him. Before he could reach his opponent, though, Zuko was suddenly stopped by an oppressive heat, a massive shape blocking his path and forcing him to skid to a stop. 

His eyes widened as he took it in. 

“Y-Yzako?”


	37. Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little short, but it packs a punch!
> 
> CW for a lot of blood and injuries

Kul stood before him, blood dripping from golden jaws as he flared his wings and roared. As incredible a sight as he was, the dragon was somehow the least of Zuko’s concerns as his gaze traveled up to the girl sitting on the beast’s neck, clinging to one of his horns as she leaned down to look at him. 

“Come on, Zuko!” she drawled. “Wasting your time with filthy Earth Kingdom commoners?”

Her tone was mocking, full of spite and venom that he had never heard before. Yeah, she was definitely going to try to kill him. 

Kul lowered his head for her to dismount and Zuko stumbled back, his swords out in front of him. He didn’t want to hurt her. He couldn’t stand the thought of it, especially as he saw the state she was in. She looked worse than ever, like an injured or sick animal that was out of its mind. Her eyes were wild, more feral than anything else, bright and angry and full of murderous intent. That glossy black hair was disheveled, falling around her shoulders in a mess, and as she clutched at her torso, he saw how hard she was gasping for air. 

“What the fuck happened to you?” he asked, lowering his swords slightly. 

“Shut up!” she snarled, spitting blood. 

Okay, that was bad. He had seen her in rough spots before, but that was all nothing compared to this. She looked like she was stubbornly refusing to lay down and die, her own blood running down her chin as she coughed. Despite that, her feet were planted firmly into the ground, her free hand outstretched and ready to do damage. 

“Yzako, you need to stop! You’re...you’re hurting yourself!” he yelled over the sound of the fire around them. 

“I’m not hurting anything!” she screamed. “Th-this is your fault! This is all your fault!”

Zuko took another step back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Look at me!” Yzako roared, stepping towards him. Little white flames shot up around her bare feet, scorching the earth. “D-Don’t you see what you’ve done?”

Zuko furrowed his brow, raising his swords again. “What do you mean?”

She did the one thing he didn’t expect. 

She started laughing. 

“You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined this moment,” she chuckled, walking towards him. “H-How many hours I spent in the dungeon crying for you, wishing you would show up to save me.”

Zuko’s face blanched. 

“But y-you never came, did you?” she straightened up, licking the blood from her lips as she coughed again. “No, you were busy running. Leaving me behind. B-but don’t worry, your father set everything right again.”

He was absolutely horrified. 

“Yzako, calm down, let me talk to you!” he said as she forced him to back up through his own flames. “Just--let’s get out of here, at least!”

“What, you suddenly care about a little Earth Kingdom village?” she paused, looking around at the crowd. “Do they even know who you are?”

Zuko gritted his teeth together. No, they didn’t. 

But they were about to find out. 

“My name is Zuko!” he yelled, turning to face the onlookers. “Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne!”

The crowd gasped, people who had just been cheering for him suddenly staring in shock. 

“Prince of the Fire Nation?” someone asked over the murmuring. 

“Don’t think they like that very much,” Yzako laughed, holding herself around the middle as she began coughing again. 

“I don’t care if they like it or not,” Zuko said. “I’m a little more concerned with the fact that you don’t even look like you should be alive right now.”

“Thank your uncle for that!” She snapped. “He tried to cripple me, to stop me from getting to you...but you can’t stop a dragon, much less a dead dragon, can you?”

In a flash, she was lunging for him. He only had a second to bring his swords up, the flat sides facing out in the hopes that Yzako wouldn’t slice herself to ribbons on the blades. Her claws reached for him, flames erupting around her as smoke billowed from her nose. 

Zuko had never seen such determination and desperate energy in one person before. She hardly seemed to care that her injuries were slowing her down, but he had to thank Iroh for them; with the way she was still managing to keep him on his toes, he knew that he wouldn’t survive against her if she were able bodied. Now, her movements were sloppy and raw, allowing him to counter them easily. 

He pushed her back time and time again, trying to be gentle. One more rough hit could spell the end for this crazy, angry dragon girl, and Zuko had no desire to be the cause of her death. Even as she struggled and swiped and burned him, he couldn’t bear the thought of killing her, hardly able to bring himself to do more than shove her away. 

When Kul reached his head over and roared again, no fire poured from his jaws. Instead, buckets of blood dripped down, puddles forming on the ground. Yzako, while blind to her own injuries, noticed them and stopped, her mouth open in horror as she looked down. 

“K-Kul,” She stammered, finally falling to her knees in a pool of dragon blood. 

“Yzako, please,” Zuko sheathed his swords, daring to approach her. “You’re both hurt. We need to get you help.”

“Don’t touch me!” She snarled, stumbling back towards Kul’s legs. 

“You can’t keep this up!” Zuko yelled angrily. “Don’t you see you’re just hurting yourself and Kul? Don’t you at least care about your own dragon anymore?”

Yzako looked up at him, hot, angry, exhausted tears in her eyes. As he loomed over her, Zuko could finally look at her face, and he saw something in it that he recognized:

Fear.

“L-Leave us alone!” 

“Your own injuries are making you crazy!” Zuko yelled. 

Yzako flinched at his tone, looking off to the side. Her eyes were wide, but they weren’t focusing on anything, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe. “Don’t call me crazy.”

“What?”

“Don’t call me crazy!” she shot forward quicker than Zuko imagined she could, grabbing his leg and pulling with whatever strength she had left. 

Her movements caught him off guard and he fell onto his back, his eyes wide as he tried to scramble away. Yzako was using the last of her energy to pursue him, though, finally sinking her claws into his chest and leaning down over his face. Blood was dripping from her lips and landing on his cheeks, the metallic scent of it flooding Zuko’s nose as he stared into the eyes of his killer. 

As terrified as he was, he couldn’t look away. 

“A-Any last words?” she hissed, bloody teeth bared. 

She must have been imagining that she was stronger than she was in that moment, because Zuko felt little more than pinpricks as her claws stabbed his chest. He was suddenly far less worried about actually dying, and he was more enamored than anything. After spending weeks dreaming about her, wondering what had happened, arguing with himself over whether or not she really wanted to kill him, she was finally there. 

And yes, she definitely wanted to kill him, and yes, there was murderous intent in her eyes, but there was so much more. He could see how they were clouded with pain and fear, the culmination of everything that had happened to her showing itself there in her golden irises. Through it all, though, something closer to her old self was trying to shine through, something that seemed familiar to Zuko. He recognized it--he recognized her, and as she sat there, lying across him, it was almost as if they were back on the ship. For a brief moment, however nonsensical it was, things felt normal. 

“Yzako,” he whispered, reaching a hand up to hold her cheek, blood smearing under his thumb. “You don’t have to do this.”

Her eyes were fluttering open and closed, her breaths coming in rapid gasps. “N-No, I have to…”

A hand came up to hold his throat, nails cutting into his flesh. Zuko was barely aware of Kul moving, his steps shaky as he circled his long body around the two of them and finally laid himself down in the bloodstained dirt. The townspeople were still frozen, peeking out from alleyways as they watched the strange scene before them. No one dared to move, not with that big monster still around, but its huge form was blocking their view of the wanderer who claimed to be a Fire Nation prince. 

From where he was still tied up, Lee could just barely see the two humans through the space between the dragon’s snout and tail. He was angry, tears pricking his eyes as he looked at the man he had almost begun to consider some kind of older brother. How could someone who just stood up to the thugs bullying their entire town turn out to be such a horrible firebender? His real brother, Su Sen, was out there somewhere, suffering under the control of the Fire Nation troops who had captured him, and now a member of the royal family was right there in their village! He didn’t know what was going on, or what this crazy girl wanted with Zuko, or whatever his name was. All he knew was that he hated firebenders, so he hated the two of them with all his heart. 

“Yzako…” Zuko whispered again, his voice quiet as her hand squeezed around his throat. 

“Wh-what?” she snapped, her tired eyes suddenly threatening to overflow with tears. She had dreamt of this moment, wanting nothing more than to finally face the cause of all her problems and kill him once and for all. Now that she was there, though, she was overwhelmed, the pain in her chest, both physical and emotional, almost too much to bear. 

“You’re beautiful.”

Her eyes widened, mouth agape as she struggled for breath. 

Zuko laughed lightly, as much as he could with her claws trying to squeeze the air out of him. “Even when you’re trying to kill me, you’re still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Stop!” she sobbed weakly, the last of her strength ebbing from her limbs. 

Her grip on his throat loosened, her body sinking until her forehead was resting against his. Zuko didn’t even care about the blood as it dripped and smeared onto him. All he cared about was the fact that she was there.

“You need to rest,” he murmured.

“N-No,” her voice was heavy with exhaustion as she began to sag against him. “I h-have to...I have to do this...I can’t….”

Her eyes finally closed. Zuko’s arms wrapped around her, catching her before she could slip into the dirt. Around them, Kul’s form began to fade, the dragon disappearing while his bloodstains remained. As Zuko sat up, pulling Yzako with him, he was suddenly faced with the shocked expressions of the townspeople who surrounded them, their homes still burning with his fire. Gow and his men had run off before they could get caught up in anything else, leaving the villagers to sort out the mess Zuko had brought upon them. 

“She needs a healer!” he yelled. “Or medicine, or...something! Please!”

No one moved.

Zuko was beginning to panic as he stood, dragging an unconscious Yzako up into his arms. “Can’t you see she’s hurt?”

“You’ve brought nothing but pain and suffering to our town!” a man shouted. “Prince Zuko, or whatever your name is...I’ve heard of you! You’re nothing but an outcast!”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. 

“Your own father burned and disowned you!”

He closed his eyes. Of course. He should never have said anything about his identity. He could have let them believe he was nothing more than a firebender, but now...they knew all they needed to know. Turning towards Lee, he saw that Sela was untying him. When she noticed Zuko’s gaze, she whipped around, stepping in front of her son. 

“Don’t come any closer!” she yelled. 

“Sela, please,” Zuko pleaded, holding Yzako bridal style. “She’s hurt, I need--”

“No!” Lee yelled, shoving his way out from behind his mother. “I hate you!”

With a sigh, Zuko only bowed his head. So that’s how it was, then. He knew he shouldn’t have stayed as long as he did. Now these innocent people were suffering the consequences of hosting a banished prince. They were kind, and they didn’t deserve any of this...though their harsh gazes, their refusal to listen to him, made him wonder if they were as kind as he thought. They had no idea what was going on, or how complicated the situation was. They only saw the ruin and destruction that he and Yzako had brought. 

He carried her to his ostrich horse, tying her to its back before he climbed on. The last thing he saw as he rode out of town were the angry, betrayed eyes of a young boy and his mother.


	38. The Spirit World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yzako learns more about what it means to be The Golden Dragon.

Zuko had no idea what he was doing. He had no plan, no medical knowledge, and no clue where to go. These mountains were desolate, full of abandoned mines and ghost towns, but very few actual settlements. As the sun was setting on the horizon and he slowed his ostrich horse down to a walk, he wished, for probably the thousandth time, that Uncle Iroh was there with him. 

He laid Yzako down before he lit a small campfire and got his bedroll out. How long did she have left? Nobody had ever thought that the prince would need to learn anything about health or how the body worked, so nobody had ever taught him. He could check her basic vitals, and he did several times that day, but the results were always the same; her heart was beating, but barely, her breaths were quick and shallow, and her eyes never opened. Blood kept seeping up out of her mouth, so much that at one point he had feared she would choke if she wasn’t sitting upright in front of him. 

As Zuko looked at her, so small and broken and fragile, he drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them. Maybe she was right, and this really was all his fault. If he had just not gotten himself banished in the first place, or if he had managed to bring back the avatar before Yzako had been sent to kill him, then none of this would have happened. They wouldn’t be out there in the middle of nowhere, cold and barely alive. 

While Zuko picked at some of the food Sela had packed for him, Yzako was dreaming. She found herself in a large, grassy field that seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, the sky above her bright violet. When she took a step, there was none of the pain that she had expected to feel, her toes surprisingly warm when she pressed them down into the soft ground. What was this place? It felt so real, but also...not, somehow. She was conscious and in control of her actions, fully aware of what she was doing as she looked around. 

A movement to her left side caught her eye, and when she turned to look at it, she saw Kul. He was bright and golden, not a drop of blood on his muzzle. He stood tall and proud, looking far more comfortable and healthy than the last time she had seen him. When he lowered his head towards her, she stumbled forward, tripping over herself in her eagerness to see him. Her hands wrapped around his snout, hugging him to her, and for a moment, she wondered if everything that had happened was actually a dream, and this was her reality. 

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled against him. 

He rumbled, the low sound reverberating through Yzako’s body. It was calming, like the purr of a huge cat, and as she wrapped her fingers in the long fur on his chin, she wished she could stay there forever. Her body didn’t hurt, her mind was clearer than it had been in weeks, and all of the anger that was twisting inside of her felt like it was slowly starting to ebb away. 

“You have had a long and difficult journey,” a deep voice behind her said. 

Yzako turned, expecting to see a man standing in the field, but she was surprised to find another dragon. This one was white, its mane a deep red, its belly a lighter pink. There were no wings sprouting from its shoulders like Kul had, but massive tusks jutted out from its mouth, and it was far larger than he was. 

“Who are you?” Yzako asked. She had never seen another dragon; after all, how could she, when they were all supposedly dead? Until Iroh had told her about Ran and Shaw, she, like everyone else, had believed they were extinct. 

“My name is Bailong,” the white dragon said, lowering its head to look at her better. “And you are the Golden Dragon.”

“No, my name is Yzako,” she bowed quickly, staring down at the grass. 

“The Golden Dragon is a title that was once passed down for generations. Centuries ago, I spoke with each and every Golden Dragon and helped guide them on their journey; however, it has now been many years since the last bearer died, and it seemed that the spirit of the Golden Dragon had been snuffed out.”

Yzak’s brows knitted together. She recalled the golden crown Ozai had given her, and his statement on how it was forged by the very first Fire Lord. The sages had given her some basic knowledge on Fire Nation history, but even they hadn’t mentioned anything along the lines of what Bailong was telling her. 

“I can see that you have much to learn.” he said. “Come. Fly with me, and I will explain.”

\--

As Zuko kept traveling, his spirits kept dampening. Yzako wasn’t improving, but she didn’t appear to be getting worse, either; she just slumped in front of him, limp and unconscious, wheezing with every breath. He kept an arm around her waist so that she wouldn’t fall off the ostrich horse, but that was about all the help he could give her. 

With no sign of civilization, Zuko was beginning to lower his standards. He didn’t need to find an entire village, he just needed to find someone. Literally anyone would be better than him. His entire medical knowledge consisted of his own experience healing burns, and that wasn’t very helpful when Yzako was coughing up blood. If he could have a shred of good luck and happen across a hermit or a traveler or a crazy old lady, it might be enough to save Yzako. 

...But what would happen once she was healthy again? Would she jump right back into trying to kill him? Would he be able to stop her if she did? 

Zuko closed his eyes, leaning his chin on the top of Yzako’s head. He was almost ashamed of how happy he was to be with her again. She had been trying to kill him, he had even seen it in her eyes, but all he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. He could remember what she had said to him at the north pole about the reward Ozai would give her for killing his only son, and while his feelings about his father were mixed, he knew that the Fire Lord could be more than cruel when he wanted to. Yzako had said that she was in the palace dungeons, and there was no doubt in his mind that she was being tortured. 

She had also said that Ozai had made it all right again, though, and that part was confusing. All Zuko really knew was that the look on her face and the tone in her voice when she told him how she had screamed for him and he never came had broken his heart, and he could still feel it shattering into pieces over and over. She was right. He hadn’t been there for her, and he had turned his back when she needed him most...but she was his assassin, and he was upset, and he was still upset, and...and he didn’t even know what to think anymore. 

He just wanted her to be okay. 

When he pulled the reins back near a stream, halting the ostrich horse so that they could get fresh water, Zuko saw something on the ground that made his eyes narrow. Huge tracks stretched on through the sparse trees, no doubt left behind by some kind of Fire Nation war machine. What were they doing all the way up here? There was nothing in the way of large cities or advantageous land, and the mountains definitely weren’t a shortcut for moving troops northeast towards Ba Sing Se. There were no other tracks accompanying them, so what was one machine doing in such a remote place?

Then, he looked up, and noticed clumps of white fur hanging on the treetops. There was only one creature that he knew could leave something like that behind, and that was the avatar’s flying bison. 

His initial urge was to follow the avatar for himself. Maybe, if he still managed to capture him, he would have a chance at getting his old life back. Zuko was learning more and more about the world as he traveled on his own, but it was impossible to let go of the quest he had been on for years. How was he going to handle both a dying Yzako and a captured airbender, though? There was no way he would manage it...and besides, Yzako was his top priority for the moment. 

Maybe the avatar would help, though. Zuko was desperate. The Fire Nation soldiers in that war machine would recognize him and arrest him, while the avatar and his friends would only recognize him and leave out the second part. Aang had saved his life on two occasions, both at Zhao’s fortress and out on the tundra, and Yzako seemed to be on a first name basis with him. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he didn’t have many choices, and he was quickly learning the true meaning of “beggars can’t be choosers.”

After a quick drink and some food, Zuko hopped back on the ostrich horse, taking off after the war machine and its target. 

\--

“Thousands of years ago, I taught the first avatar how to control fire.” Bailong said. 

He and Kul were flying through the lilac sky, twisting around each other as if they were dancing. Yzako was holding onto Kul’s horns, her hair blowing back in the comfortable breeze. The world down below them was peaceful, full of forests and swamps that seemed to stretch on and on, just as the field had. There were mountains in the distance, their peaks surrounded by storm clouds. What was this place? Yzako still couldn’t tell if she was dreaming, or if she had somehow ended up in another world altogether.

“I, and other dragons, continued teaching the humans as they ventured into the wilds. Soon, Wan separated the spirit world, and the humans began warring with each other. I watched warlords seize power and land over and over, shedding blood and killing all in their path. It was not until one of them grew strong enough to put a stop to the wars that the tribes were united, and what you know as the Fire Nation was finally created.”

“The first Fire Lord,” Yzako said. The sages had at least told her that much. 

“Correct,” Bailong circled around Kul, his head level with Yzako. “While the Fire Lord led the humans, the dragons, including myself, chose an emissary who would deliver our will to the Fire Nation and protect our shared home.”

“Like the avatar?” Yzako asked. 

“In a sense, yes, though as the Golden Dragon, you will experience no link with your past lives. All you share with them is a common title and duty to the fire that warms your homeland. The avatar serves as a bridge between worlds, while you are a warrior charged with helping those who cannot stand up for themselves.”

“So...what? Am I supposed to go single handedly win the war or something?”

“I am unfamiliar with many events in the human world,” Bailong said. “I have witnessed thousands of years of wars, and just as many years of peace. Humans are violent, but still many more are compassionate, defending those who need their help. When the first Golden Dragon was chosen, I guided her, filling her lungs with breath and her heart with fire until she grew more powerful than even the Fire Lord. When she eventually died, a new Golden Dragon was chosen to take her place, and I ascended to the spirit world.”

“Is that where we are?” Yzako asked, looking around. 

“Indeed. You have been here before, Yzako, when you were very young. I have not seen you in many years, though I do not feel time’s passage the way you do.”

“You said that there hasn’t been a Golden Dragon in centuries. Why now?”

“As the Fire Nation and the rest of the world grew and changed, tensions between warring clans continued to mount. The last Golden Dragon fell, and another was never named The fire sages and the royal families seemed to forget about the long tradition. When the great golden Kul died, he breathed life into your cold lungs. Even here, a world away, I felt the shift in energies. You have begun the long tradition of the Golden Dragon once more, as a new, powerful warrior, one who is more connected with the dragons than any before you.”

Yzako sat back. She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but somehow, she knew it was true. She had always known. After being called Golden Dragon her entire life, she had always suspected that it was more than just a title, though she was never told what. 

“Now that we are finally speaking, I believe we have some catching up to do.” Bailong said, leading Kul down to a mountaintop. 

Both dragons landed on a rocky summit, circling their long bodies around each other while Yzako sat in the middle. Kul’s head rested on the ground at her side while Bailong faced her, his neck still held high as he looked down at the small human before him. 

“You are in pain,” he observed. “Not here, but in the human world.”

“Yes,” Yzako hugged herself. “I’m--my body is hurt. I remember choking on my own blood before everything went black.”

“Yes, your body is in danger,” the dragon said calmly. “But your very soul is crying out. Your energy is blocking itself.”

Yzako tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“You are angry, little one. Far angrier than I have ever felt a human. Why?”

“Because I want the pain to go away. And I want the people who hurt me to pay for it.”

“But are you angry at the right people?”

She squared her jaw. “Yes.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because if Zuko hadn’t ruined everything, and if I had just been able to kill him, none of this would have happened. I would be happy and safe.”

“You refused to take an innocent life, Yzako. Had you carried out your master’s will, the boy would be dead, and you would be eaten alive by the guilt. Prince Zuko is merely a victim of the Fire Lord’s favoritism and temper.”

“How do you know? I thought you didn’t care for human politics.”

“I know only what I can see through your eyes, and you are showing me turmoil, both inside and out.”

“Stop reading my mind!” she snapped. “You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

Bailong chuckled. “No, I do not pretend to understand what you have experienced. You have a bright fire inside of you, Yzako, one that should not be extinguished by the hand of Fire Lord Ozai so quickly.”

“He’s not extinguishing it. He saved me.”

“From what? The situation he put you in?”

“He told me he didn’t want it to go that far. He saved me from the torture, and gave me everything I could ever want.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. He fed me, clothed me, gave me servants to wait on me--”

“Yet Fire Lord Ozai is the reason you needed these things to begin with.”

Yzako glared up at him. “Stop acting like you know everything.”

“Young one, a dragon does not wear chains.” Bailong lowered his head to look her in the eyes. “Yet your masters have collared you. Are you truly so afraid of your own freedom that you will not seize it for yourself?”

She stared at him, opening and closing her mouth a few times as she tried to figure out what to say. “I’m not afraid of my freedom. I’m trying to earn it.”

“You have traveled the world, and not once did you fly away when you had the chance. It is time for you to admit what exactly it is that you are protecting.”

“What are you talking about? You don’t make any sense!”

“The Golden Dragon must protect those they love and care about. You are charged with defending not only the Fire Nation, but the individuals within it who mean the most to you. There is a reason you cannot make yourself kill Prince Zuko, no matter how much you try to tell yourself you must.”

“Shut up!” Yzako snarled. 

“You love him.”

“No I don’t!” she stood, fists at her sides as she looked up at him defiantly. “I thought I did once, but he pushed me away. He let them take me. This is all his fault!”

“Your heart is shrouded in anger, and humans have hurt you in ways I cannot imagine, but you must look inside yourself for the truth.” Bailong said, exhaling puffs of white smoke. “I am afraid our time is running out. We will speak again soon, but for now, you must rest.”

Yzako wanted to protest, but her limbs suddenly felt heavy. She was tired, incredibly tired, falling to the ground and immediately seeing nothing but darkness. As she slipped into sleep, Kul moved to tighten the coils of his body around her, his warm breath ruffling her hair as he joined her for a much needed nap. 

\--

“Here is your tea,” Iroh said, handing a small wooden cup to his strange companion. 

She was a young girl, dressed in Earth Kingdom colors, her hair pulled back into a large bun. Her eyes were white and unseeing, dark circles under them indicating that she hadn’t slept in days. Iroh had found the girl wandering the forest as he made a small, temporary camp, and he could tell that she needed his company almost as much as Zuko and Yzako needed his help. 

“You seem a little young to be traveling alone,” he commented. 

“You seem a little too old.” she took the cup from him. 

“Perhaps I am,” he chuckled. 

“I know what you’re thinking.” the girl said. “I look like I can’t handle being by myself.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“You wouldn’t even let me pour my own cup of tea.”

Iroh smiled, holding his own cup up to his lips. “I poured your tea because I wanted to, and for no other reason.”

She took a sip and looked up again. “People see me and think I’m weak. They want to take care of me, but I can take care of myself, by myself.”

“You sound like my nephew,” Iroh said. “Always thinking you need to do things on your own without anyone’s support. There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you...not that I love you. I just met you.”

The girl laughed, and Iroh smiled. It felt good to have a pleasant conversation again after so many days of hurrying after Yzako. In the last town he tracked her to, the people there were far less pleased to see a strange face, their attitudes stiff and hostile. As Iroh had walked into the village, he could see why; buildings were burnt, a telltale sign that she and Zuko had been there, and the earth was soaked red with blood. A woman and her son told him of the horrible events that had just taken place hours before, and as they recanted the tale of a bleeding dragon and the Fire Nation prince it had tried to kill, Iroh’s heart had dropped. 

At least he knew they were both alive, but he had no idea how long that would last. 

“So, where is your nephew?” the earthbender girl asked. 

“I’ve been tracking him, actually.” Iroh said, looking down at his tea. 

“Is he lost?”

He sighed. “Yes, a little bit. His life has recently changed, and he’s going through a difficult time. He’s trying to figure out who he is, and he went away.”

“So you’re following him.”

“I know he doesn’t want me around right now, but he needs me, and so does the girl he is traveling with now. I fear they are both injured, but neither are willing to accept help.”

“Your nephew and his girl are very lucky, even if they don’t know it,” the girl said, elbows on her knees. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Iroh said as she stood to leave. “Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life’s true delights.”

“No, thank you for what you said. It helped me.” she bent down to pick up her bag. “And about your nephew and this girl of his...maybe you should tell them that you need them, too.”

As she walked away, Iroh considered her words. Yes, he supposed he should express just how much he cared for both Zuko and Yzako. He didn’t know who the mysterious earthbender was, but he had a suspicion that she was traveling with the avatar; after all, he didn’t know many other ragtag groups of teenagers who would be walking through the mountains.

If they were nearby, hopefully they would be able to find Yzako before he did and give her the help she desperately needed. After seeing how much blood had been shed at the small town she and Zuko had faced each other in, and hearing the tales of their fight, Iroh knew that she hadn’t slowed down for a second after he tried to stop her. She must have hurt herself far worse than he had, and he felt beyond guilty for putting her in that position...though he suspected it was what spared Zuko’s life. He knew that his nephew had ridden out with her, and he could only hope that she was still alive. 

What he had heard about the dragon was concerning, though; the woman he had spoken with told him that massive amounts of blood had gushed from its jaws, and it acted like a sick and injured beast. Yzako’s injuries must have been affecting Kul, and while Iroh was impressed that the spirit had continued on flying and holding onto his physical form for so long, he was deeply worried about the consequences. 

With a sigh, he finished his tea and packed up his camp, setting off once more in the direction Zuko had been heading. He had rested long enough, and it was time to get back on his feet and go help the people he loved most, whether they wanted him around or not.

\---

When the tracks and the bison fur suddenly split off in two different directions, Zuko chose to follow the fur. He had a better chance getting the avatar to help him than he did the Fire Nation, and as he neared an abandoned mining town, he was getting hopeful. 

That hope was dashed as soon as he spotted the avatar facing Azula in the road, though. 

He was filled with anger. His sister needed to butt out. He was mad at her for trying to arrest him, mad at her for lying all the time, mad at her for being their father’s favorite...he was just mad. Leaving Yzako with his ostrich horse, he took off, sprinting between dilapidated buildings until he reached Azula, just as she was addressing the avatar. 

“Do you really want to fight me?” she asked in that pompous, proper tone she always spoke with. 

“Yes, I really do!” Zuko snarled, skidding to a stop in front of her. He pulled his rice hat off, tossing it to the side as he stood and faced his sister. 

“Zuko?” the avatar gasped behind him. “Where is Yzako? What did you do with her?!”

Zuko barely registered the airbender’s voice, his attention focused almost entirely on Azula. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up, Zuzu.” she smirked, folding her arms over her chest. 

“Back off, Azula!” Zuko warned, dropping into a fighting stance. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” she mimicked him, but her stance was different. She was poised for an entirely different movement, one that Zuko only vaguely recognized. 

For a long, tense moment, no one moved. The avatar was holding his staff up at the ready, watching both of them with tired eyes. Zuko glanced back and forth between the monk and his sister, entirely on edge as he waited for her to make a move. 

When she finally did, she was quick, her blue fire shooting into him and throwing him back into a building. When the avatar tried to run, jumping up and unfolding his glider to take to the sky, she pursued him, bringing him down with a string of flames. Aang didn’t stand a chance against her on his own, but as Zuko climbed to his feet and entered the fray once more, they were able to keep Azula on her toes. 

The three were moving quickly, Zuko managing to attract most of her attention. Just like back on her ship, she was angry at how much better his firebending had gotten in his time away. It was no wonder Yzako hadn’t managed to bring him down yet; Iroh had been teaching little Zuzu some of his tricks. As much as she wanted to kill him, though, she also had to focus on the avatar, following him up some stairs and into an abandoned house. 

She managed to catch herself before falling through the crumbling second story, glaring at the airbender as he floated on a sphere made of wind. Zuko was too eager as always, though, immediately falling down to the ground floor. The avatar followed, disappearing through a window and dodging the flames that flew after him. 

As he jumped up between two walls, trying to reach the safety of the rooftops, he wondered where Yzako was. He hadn’t seen any sign of her since the north pole, and while he knew she was working with Zuko, he honestly had no idea what to think anymore...plus, Zuko’s sister was way crazier than any other firebender he had met, and if he had a choice, he would definitely pick the grumpy prince and the fun dragon girl. 

Azula’s fire was so hot it was blue, and it was strong enough that she was carving entire chunks off of buildings. As Aang scrambled up, clawing his way onto the roof, he suddenly found himself falling into a pile of rubble. Azula had managed to bring him down, trapping him in a heap of wooden rafters and large stone bricks. 

As he tried to free himself, Azula entered through the doorway. Flames were soon lighting up around the room, creeping up the walls as she smiled. The beams on top of him were too heavy, and he had no way out. Just as she was raising a hand to finish him off, though, a new figure appeared in the doorway, a water whip suddenly grabbing Azula’s wrist and yanking her back. 

Another shot forward and snapped one of the rafters in half, freeing Aang. 

“Katara!” he yelled happily. 

He sprang to his feet, and together, the two of them drove Azula back out into the street. When she tried to run, Sokka headed her off, and as they backed her into a corner, Aang barely noticed Zuko’s unconscious form lying on the ground in the distance. 

Iroh noticed him, though. 

“Get up,” he said quickly as he reached his nephew. 

“Uncle?” Zuko asked, taking his hand. 

“Where is Yzako?” Iroh pulled him to his feet. 

“She’s with my ostrich horse, just outside of town.”

Iroh just nodded and turned to see Azula backing towards an alley. Before she could make a run for it, the earthbender girl he had shared tea with appeared, knocking the princes off her feet. 

“Thought you guys could use a little help!” she yelled. 

Iroh couldn’t help but smile. So he had been right, after all; she was with the avatar. 

As Azula ran, he and Zuko hurried along, parallel to her. When she tried to jump over a dusty pile of crates, she found herself colliding with her uncle, bouncing back towards a dead end. Her back hit the brick wall, and still she refused to surrender; in true Azula fashion, she was going to fight until she couldn’t anymore. It would have been admirable, had she been fighting for the right reasons. 

“Well, look at this,” she sneered as the six of them advanced on her. “Enemies and traitors, all working together. Where’s Yzako? I thought for sure she would have minced you up by now, Zuzu.”

“Shut up!” Zuko snarled. 

Azula scoffed. “Well, I’m done. I know when I’ve been beaten.” she suddenly raised her hands into the air. “You got me. A princess surrenders with honor.”

Iroh narrowed his eyes. That wasn’t like her at all. She was cold, calculating, and an excellent strategist. If she could see a way out of this, she was going to take it. She would strike someone, he knew it...he just didn’t know who. 

A split second later, lightning struck his chest. 

The yell Zuko let out was louder and more full of pain and panic than anyone present had ever heard. As Iroh fell to the ground next to him, he unleashed all of his fire on Azula, the flames joined by a stream of water, air, and earth as the others joined. His sister hardly seemed inconvenienced, though, bending her blue fire to protect herself until they were all blinded in an explosion. 

When the dust settled, she was gone, and Zuko was on his knees next to his uncle. How had this happened?! How had he managed to get the two people he cared about in the entire world mortally wounded, nearly within the same day? 

“Get away from us!” he roared as the earthbender girl approached. He didn’t recognize her, but he didn’t care. 

“Zuko, I can help,” Katara said from behind him. 

The prince was breathing hard, panic rising in his chest. Just like Yzako, he lashed out, an arc of hot flames flying out towards the avatar and his friends. He needed to think, he needed time to figure this out. All his intentions of enlisting their help flew out the window as she stared down at Iroh, his mind empty of any cohesive thoughts. If they had stuck around, perhaps, after several minutes, he would have calmed down and been able to ask them to heal both Iroh and Yzako; but they left, as they should have, and he was left alone. 

Yzako...his head shot up. He needed to make sure she hadn’t been hit in the blast. Jumping to his feet, he ran to where he had left her. When the ostrich horse came into view, he almost breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw no sign of Yzako, he stopped. There were no smears of blood, nothing that would suggest she had been thrown downhill. She was just gone, and as he gritted his teeth in an angry snarl, he realized he knew exactly what had happened. 

Azula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just binged book 3 again today and I'm getting so many more ideas, I cannot wait to drag you all with me once we get there!


	39. Lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to spoil all of you with another quick update! I'm zoomin through these chapters again because I absolutely cannot wait to get to some more fun stuff!

When Yzako finally woke, she expected to see Zuko’s face looking down at her. She had anticipated his relieved voice, maybe his embrace...not this cheery, ponytailed girl she was suddenly faced with. 

Her eyes widened happily, lips spreading into a wide smile. “You’re alive!”

“Am I?” Yzako asked, pushing herself up. She felt better than she had before she passed out, that was for sure. 

“Azula brought you back. She said not to touch you and that you’d be fine on your own...but I got so scared you were going to die!” the girl sprang forward, pulling her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Do I know you?” Yzako asked, struggling to breathe as the stranger squeezed her.

“Nope!” she sat back again. “I’m Ty Lee, Azula’s friend. And Mai is over there by the fire, sulking because she didn’t get to see Zuko today. You’re lucky!”

“I am not sulking!” a dark haired girl leaning against a log yelled. 

Ty Lee just smiled. “Azula told us a little about you. She said we couldn’t let you die, like Zuko would. He’s a traitor, you know!”

“Right,” Yzako sighed. “Where are we?”

“Still in the mountains in the southern Earth Kingdom.” Azula stepped into view. “Welcome back. You were out for a while. I was beginning to fear we’d lost you.”

“How long is a while?” Yzako asked. She finally noticed that she was wrapped in a pink blanket and pulled it tighter around her shoulders. 

“About a day since I found you, and who knows how long before that.”

“Where’s Zuko?”

Azula scoffed. “He left you on your own. I was the one who retrieved you and brought you back here with me.”

Yzako’s heart sank. Bailong really had her starting to think that she should disobey Ozai and go flying away with Zuko, but of course that wasn’t realistic. Of course he had abandoned her after she blacked out on top of him. 

As she looked down, she couldn’t see the smug look on Azula’s face. The princess had to hide a cruel laugh, turning her head before she lost control. Lovesickness was so easy to exploit, especially in Zuko and Yzako’s case. She didn’t even really have to lie all that much to them. 

“You were in absolutely awful shape when I found you,” she continued. “Quite frankly, I’m surprised you’re even alive.”

“I’m fine,” Yzako growled. 

Azula smiled. “Of course you are. You might as well get some more rest; we’re all about to turn in for the night. At dawn we continue on after the avatar.”

“How are you tracking him?”

“His bison is shedding!” Ty Lee said. “We’ve been following these cute little clumps of hair—“

“They aren’t cute,” Mai grumbled. “They’re smelly and disgusting.”

“But they’re so soft!”

“Girls.” Azula interjected, silencing them. “Yes, the avatar’s flying bison has been leaving behind a trail of fur. It’s painfully easy to see. I suspect they are heading north, towards Ba Sing Se, and so shall we. This plan is agreeable, yes?”

Yzako just shrugged. It didn’t seem like she had much of a choice or a say in Azula’s decisions. “Might as well be.”

“Good. I’ll see you ladies at dawn.”

With that, the princess walked away to her own bedroll, her back to them as she laid down. Yzako settled back down as well, frowning as she did so. Bailong had given her too much to think about, and her brain was too tired to even begin processing all of it. She wanted to be angry at Zuko and Iroh, but now that she was in a safe place, her body was craving more sleep. It wasn’t long before she was passing out again, drifting away into a peaceful, dreamless slumber until morning came. 

\--

“Uncle? Uncle, can you hear me?”

Iroh’s eyes cracked open, and he tried to move with a grunt. His nephew’s face came into focus above him, the boy’s eyes full of a worry that warmed the old man’s heart. He had been dreaming of his beloved son, Lu Ten, and the days they spent playing together in the fields when he was small and Iroh could still carry him. Something was nagging at him, though, pulling him back into the physical world, and now that he had left the rainy fields of his dreams behind, he could see that thing had been his nephew. 

“You were unconscious,” Zuko sounded relieved. “Azula did this to you. It was a surprise attack.”

“Somehow, that’s not so surprising,” Iroh said as he pushed himself up on his elbow. His chest and left shoulder were bandaged, sloppily but effectively, and he supposed he had Zuko to thank for his survival. 

He scooted back towards the wall, taking in his surroundings as he did so. They seemed to be in an abandoned home, probably in the ghost town they had faced Azula in. When had he gone down? He could barely remember anything past backing his niece into a corner. 

“Here,” Zuko’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, and Iroh smiled at the sight of a fresh cup of tea. “I hope I made it the way you like it.”

Iroh accepted it graciously, the cup heating his hands as he raised it to his lips. Finally, Zuko had taken an interest in the art of tea making...it was about time he realized just how necessary a good tea was to one’s own health and well being. It was exactly what Iroh needed, and as he took a sip, he expected to be filled with the warmth and love that went into brewing it. 

It tasted absolutely terrible. 

“Good,” he managed to squeeze out as she swallowed. “That was very...bracing.”

Zuko just smiled, proud of himself. Iroh certainly couldn’t fault him for trying, now could he? 

“Where is Yzako?” he asked, daring to take another sip. 

The prince’s face fell. “Azula took her.”

A sadness settled over Iroh. He closed his eyes, lowering his head. So she was right back where she had started, in Ozai’s clutches. “We must trust that she is alive.”

“How can we? Uncle, what happened to her? She said that you…”

“I only wished to slow her down,” Iroh opened his eyes once more, his gaze focused on the fire under the tea kettle that sat next to Zuko. “She was determined to reach you. I feared that in her anger, she would kill you...so I did what I had to.”

“You hurt her?” Zuko’s voice cracked as he tried to understand. 

“Not a moment has gone by that I have not regretted my actions. I assumed that she was physically stronger than she was, but it seems her time with the Fire Lord has left her weaker than before.” he sighed. “When I saw the aftermath of what happened in that village, I knew she must have been pushing herself to reach you.”

“Why was she bleeding so much?”

“I hit her in the ribs.” he shook his head. “I meant to disrupt her energy flow, slowing her down and cooling her fire temporarily...but I suspect one must have cracked, and when she did not slow like I had thought she would, it pierced her lung.”

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. “You were right.” he said quietly. “She would have killed me if you hadn’t done that.”

Iroh felt sadness welling up in his chest. “What did she tell you?”

“Not much.” he looked to the side, staring at nothing in particular. “She blamed me. Said everything was my fault.”

His uncle took another sip of his tea, ignoring the horrid taste. It was indeed brewed with love, even if it was brewed terribly. “We must do what we can and continue on now, nephew. I trust that at the very least, Yzako is alive with Azula.”

Zuko just nodded. Part of him wanted to cry. She had finally been right there, and she had slipped right back through his fingers. “It’s only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I’m going to need to know more advanced firebending if I’m going to stand a chance against her or Yzako.” he looked back up at his uncle. “I know what you’re going to say. She’s my sister, and I should try to get along with her, and Yzako is just confused.”

“No.” Iroh put his empty teacup down. “Azula is crazy and she needs to go down. And Yzako is little more than an enraged beast in this state.”

Zuko watched with wide eyes as the old man stood, grunting with the effort. He held his shoulder, rolling it out as he looked down at his nephew. 

“It is time to resume your training.”

Zuko just nodded eagerly. Lee had made him realize how much he missed training regularly, and now, he would finally have something to distract himself. “I’m ready.”

Iroh nodded, walking towards the open doorway. “But first, fresh tea.”

Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he had to wait. “Fine.”

Iroh just smiled, walking outside to gather leaves. He was back within minutes, sitting down across from his nephew and beginning a fresh pot. Zuko had to admit, this tea smelled significantly more inviting than what he had managed to make, but he found a way to convince himself that it couldn’t have been that bad if Iroh had actually drank it the way he did. 

“Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is.” Iroh said, dragging his nephew’s attention back from the tea. “Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire. It is precise and deadly, like Azula.”

He poured them each a new cup of tea, handing one over to Zuko. “To perform the technique requires peace of mind.”

“I see,” Zuko said. “That’s why we’re drinking fresh tea...to calm the mind.”

Iroh took a sip. “Oh yeah, good point! I mean...yes. Now, finish your cup and come with me.”

They drank in silence, both men standing when they were done. Iroh led Zuko outside through the dust and the scraggly underbrush, taking him up onto a ridge that overlooked the mountains. The view was somewhat awe inspiring, the Earth Kingdom stretching on and on for miles off in the distance. 

“There is energy all around us,” Iroh said. “The energy is both yin, and yang--positive energy, and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This created an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and in the moment that the negative and positive energy come crashing back together, you provide release and guidance, creating lightning.”

Zuko just stared at him as Iroh raised a hand, indicating that he needed to back up. He did as told, taking several steps, and watched from a distance as his uncle raised his arms. He drew his hands in circular motions, electricity crackling at his fingertips as he suddenly generated the lightning that came blasting out of his arm. 

It was bright blue-white, flashing away just as quickly as it was created, and Zuko wanted to feel it for himself. 

“I’m ready to try it.” he said. 

“Remember, once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first.”

Zuko inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as his lungs filled with air. Mimicking his uncle’s movements, he felt something moving through him, but when he released it, nothing but a small explosion came out. There was no lightning, no distinct smell of electricity surrounding him. He was only thrown back onto his ass, frustrated and disappointed with himself. 

Iroh shook his head. “Focus on the energies, Prince Zuko. Feel them flowing within you.”

Zuko leapt to his feet, and for the rest of the morning, he tried. He tried, and he tried, and he tried some more, but every single time he did, it backfired on him. How had his uncle done it so easily? How had his stupid sister managed it, when she was the meanest person on the entire planet?

“I can’t do it!” he finally snarled. “It keeps exploding in my face, like everything always does!”

Iroh was sitting in the shade, watching him. With a sigh, he stood, approaching his nephew. “I was afraid this might happen. You will not be able to master lightning until you have dealt with the turmoil inside you.”

“What turmoil?” he snapped, turning to his uncle. 

“Zuko,” Iroh said sharply. “You must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away.”

“But I don’t feel any shame at all! I’m...I’m as proud as ever!”

“Prince Zuko, pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.”

“Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately.” Zuko looked away. 

For a moment, neither of them spoke. They both knew what the unsaid words hanging in the air were; Zuko had felt more humility in the past weeks than ever before, from his even further banishment to his lover trying to kill him. 

“Well, I have another idea.” Iroh finally spoke up. “I will teach you a firebending move that even Azula doesn’t know...because I made it up myself.”

That raised Zuko’s spirits. He looked back to his uncle with a small smile on his face. Iroh could tell that his frustration was keeping him from even being able to sort out his emotions, and after years of training the prince, he knew how to deal with his tantrums. Zuko needed positive reinforcement, and to see that he was doing something well. Perhaps this would be the key. 

Taking a tree branch off the ground, Iroh began drawing in the dirt. “Zuko, come sit.”

The prince obeyed, sitting cross legged before him. “What is this, uncle?”

“Fire is the element of power.” he explained, tracing its symbol. “The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.” 

He moved back slightly, drawing another shape. “Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.”

He moved once more, continuing his patterns. “Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns, and found peace and freedom. Also, they apparently had pretty good senses of humor!”

When his bright smile had no effect on Zuko, Iroh continued on. “Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.”

“Why are you telling me these things?” Zuko asked quietly. 

“It is important to draw wisdom from many different places,” Iroh explained, leaning on his branch. “If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others--the other elements, and the other nations--will help you become whole.”

“All this four elements stuff is sounding like avatar talk.”

“It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the avatar so powerful. But, it can make you more powerful, too.” Iroh poked at Zuko’s chest with the end of his stick. “You see, the technique I am about to teach you is one I learned by studying the waterbenders.”

Zuko was surprised. He had never heard of someone studying the bending of another nation before. His entire life, he had been taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest, most prosperous, and most powerful country there was, and that fire was the superior element. The other nations all stubbornly refused to accept the might of his people, and for many years, he had believed them to be lesser. 

“You would do well to remember what I have told you,” Iroh said. “There is much to learn from other cultures; after all, if it weren’t for the original masters of each element, humans would have never developed our own techniques. We owe much to the dragons who shared their knowledge of firebending with us, just as the earthbenders were taught by badger moles.”

Zuko wrinkled his nose. “Badger moles? Really?”

“Of course!” Iroh chuckled. “Great, proud creatures. They may even be mightier than some dragons!”

Zuko snorted. “I’ll believe that when I see it, uncle.”

“Well, perhaps one day you will have the honor,” Iroh smiled. “Now, stand.”

The prince jumped to his feet, eager to have something to do besides sitting in the dirt. His uncle faced him, standing with his feet wide apart. Zuko mirrored him, following his movements as he held his arms out and explained himself.

“Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy.” Iroh said as he moved his arms back and forth, side to side. “A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponent’s energy against them. I learned a way to do this with lightning.”

Zuko’s face lit up. “You can teach me to redirect lightning?”

Iroh nodded. “If you let the energy in your body flow, the lightning will follow it.” he turned to the side, one arm fully outstretched while his fingers traced a line down his forearm. “You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder, then down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi...though in my case, it is more like a vast ocean.”

He broke into laughter, but again, his joke fell on deaf ears. Zuko was just staring at him, impatient and ready to move on. 

“From the stomach, you direct it up again and out the other arm.” he lowered his arms to his sides once more, stepping towards Zuko. “The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, for the damage could be deadly.”  
As his uncle pressed two fingers against Zuko’s chest, the prince looked down. “Azula and Yzako have worked with lightning. It can’t be that hard.”

“They are both incredibly skilled firebenders.” Iroh stepped back. “Azula can create the cold-blooded fire because it is in her nature; Yzako was able to redirect it during that storm because I instructed her, and Kul steered it away from her heart. It is incredibly dangerous to attempt, and should only be done in extreme circumstances.”

“This is an extreme circumstance.”

Iroh closed his eyes for a moment and nodded. “You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway’s flow, like this.”

Zuko mimicked his uncle as he once again traced a line through one arm and then out the other, then back again. It was calming, like waves hitting the shore, a rhythmic back and forth motion that had Zuko concentrating on his own movements more than the world around him. 

“Now, are you focusing your energy?” Iroh asked after several repetitions. “Can you feel your own chi flowing in, down, up, and out?”

“I think so,” Zuko answered, continuing the movements. 

“You’ve got to feel the flow,” Iroh said with a smile as he watched. Zuko was finally beginning to loosen up.

They stayed there as the sun began setting, doing little more than repeating the technique over and over. When their shadows were long and the sky was a deep orange, Iroh stopped, satisfied with Zuko’s work. 

“Excellent,” he said, straightening up. “You’ve got it.”

Zuko clasped his hands together and bowed. “I’m ready to try it with real lightning.”

Iroh stared at him. “What, are you crazy? Lightning is very dangerous.”

“I thought that was the point,” the prince’s eyes narrowed. “You teaching me how to protect myself from it.”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to shoot lightning at you!” Iroh turned, looking out to the mountains. “If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to use this technique at all.”

Zuko was angry. Why had he just wasted all that time if he wasn’t going to get anything out of it?! As thunder rumbled across the fields, he clenched his hands into fists. There had to be a way. He needed to be able to survive another encounter with his sister, and he needed to get stronger if he had any hope of matching Yzako’s power. Zuko took a sharp breath, exhaling some steam as he turned his gaze out to the storm clouds gathering in the distance. 

“If you’re not going to help me, I’ll go find my own lightning.”

Iroh could only stand and watch as his nephew took the ostrich horse, running towards the darkening horizon. Shaking his head, he turned to the crumbling house they had taken up shelter in, starting a fresh pot of tea. Zuko’s anger was going to keep holding him back, just as Yzako’s was blinding her. Both young firebenders needed to learn to move past it, but when they were so determined to cling to the feeling and hold it close, there was little hope that they would be able to. Just like the Fire Nation, they were both driven to achieve whatever they wanted, but Iroh feared that their own stubbornness would be their downfall. 

When Zuko reached the base of a craggy mountain peak, he slowed the ostrich horse to a stop and got off. It was beginning to rain, and as he climbed to the top, the sky grew dark as night. Wind whipped around him, threatening to knock him down when he finally stood tall and braced himself against it. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed, though none of it was close enough to strike him yet. 

He was upset, all of his anger swirling around and knotting up before it finally came pouring out. The past several days had left him exhausted and furious, sad and enraged, all at the same time. The world was continuing to beat him down over and over, just as it had his entire life. 

“You’ve always thrown everything you could at me.” he looked up at the clouds. “Well, I can take it. And now I can give it back!”

Tears streamed from his eyes, mixing with the rain that was drenching him. The lightning struck closer and closer, flashing brighter each time. The thunder that followed was deafening, but he hardly noticed the ringing it left in his ears. 

“Come on, strike me!” he yelled. “You’ve never held back before!”

Then he waited, steeling himself for whatever was about to come. He expected pain, some kind of rush, maybe even a cold feeling...but nothing happened. 

Of course it didn’t. 

With a frustrated yell, he sank to his knees. He was stupid to think that he would be able to control lightning, and even stupider to think that he would get the chance to finally get back at the universe for what it was constantly putting him through. As he knelt there, buffeted by the storm, Zuko cried--for himself, for Yzako, for everything else. After years, he still couldn’t catch a break. Nothing was going right. There was something stopping him at every turn, keeping him from just being happy.

He didn’t know how to fix things, or if he even could. As he trudged back down the mountain, feeling empty and tired, he was happy to see that his uncle had prepared a small dinner for the two of them, and as they ate, Iroh didn’t ask any questions. At least there, in the abandoned shack, Zuko felt a little bit safe for once. 

Wherever she was, he hoped that Yzako was safe, too.


	40. The Desert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stop spoiling you all with quick updates! I think you're going to love what's coming up in a few chapters, too...

Yzako had been expecting to travel on foot or the back of one of the weird giant lizard things Azula had, but instead, they were riding along in a war machine. There were a few soldiers accompanying them, but they kept to themselves, more concerned with driving the loud chunk of metal down through the mountains. 

“I hate this thing,” Mai sighed, leaning her head back against the hull. 

“Mai hates everything,” Ty Lee whispered, leaning in towards Yzako and hiding her mouth with her hand. 

“I can still hear you, you know.”

“How are you feeling today, Yzako?” Ty Lee asked, ignoring the other girl. 

She shrugged. “Fine. I feel a lot less like I’m dying.”

“Yay!” she clapped her hands together. “That’s great! 

“What happened to you, anyway?” Mai asked, almost sounding genuinely interested for once. 

“Yes, Yzako, what did happen?” Azula raised an eyebrow. 

Yzako looked down at her lap, brows furrowed as she tried to remember. “I met with you a few weeks ago...then I began hunting Zuko and Iroh.”

“Were they the ones who hurt you so bad?” Ty Lee asked.

Yzako nodded slowly as she tried to remember. “Yeah…yeah, sort of. I caught up with Iroh first. They had separated, but he was still following Zuko. He injured me to keep me from getting to Zuko.”

Azula scoffed. “Typical Uncle Iroh. If that tea-loving fool had a shred of dignity left, he would have helped you take Zuko down and redeemed himself.”

Yzako bit her tongue before she could argue. While her stance on the two traitors was beginning to change again, Azula didn’t know that. The princess needed to believe that Yzako was still completely and utterly obedient as she tried to sort out her confused feelings. 

“I pushed myself and caught up to Zuko anyway. Then it gets blurry...I just remember the smell of blood and a lot of pain. Then I woke up to see you.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I found you when I did. You were in terrible shape. It seems Zuzu left you to die.” Azula said. 

“I can’t believe you lost against him.” Mai rolled her eyes. 

Yzako’s head snapped up to look at her. “I didn’t lose.”

“We all remember how behind he was in his classes.” Mai shrugged. “I didn’t think it would be so hard for you to take him down.”

As Yzako’s lip raised in her signature sneer, Azula frowned. The last thing she needed right now was for Mai to pick a fight and get pulverized by a dragon. 

“He isn’t weak!” Yzako snapped. “If he was, I would think one of you guys would already have things under control.”

“Mai is just holding a grudge,” Ty Lee laughed brightly, leaning in to whisper to Yzako again. “She and Zuko used to be an item. Then he dumped her!”

Yzako continued staring at Mai, her eyes narrowing into angry slits. Oh, so she was a grumpy ex, huh? She could just barely recall Zuko telling her one night that he had dated a girl back in the Fire Nation. Apparently, Mai was that girl. Kul growled softly in Yzako’s ears, and she she couldn’t tell if it was in warning to her to avoid doing something rash and stupid out of jealousy, or if he was as irritated as she was. 

“Everything alright, Yzako?” Azula smiled. “You seem a bit tense all of the sudden.”

“I’m fine,” Yzako crossed her arms and looked away. 

“Are you sure? Your aura just got so angry,” Ty Lee said, looking concerned. Then, realization dawned on her. “Ohhh, I get it! You like Zuko, too!”

Yzako’s face reddened and she looked back at them. “I do not!”

“Oh, come now, Yzako.” Azula checked her nails, not even bothering to look up at any of the other girls. “You’re among friends now. You can admit it.”

“I was a little...involved with Zuko,” she mumbled, her cheeks a bright red as she blushed. “But that all ended. I don’t care about him anymore.”

“I guess you better not, since you’re trying to kill him and all,” Ty Lee smiled, as bubbly as ever. “Has he gotten cuter now? He was always a little cute, but I haven’t gotten to see him lately!”

Yzako sighed. “Yeah, he is.”

Across from her, Mai scrunched her face up angrily. It was the most emotion Yzako had seen her show so far, which probably meant that she was really getting under the gloomy girl’s skin. 

“So did you guys date?” Ty Lee asked. 

“This isn’t a slumber party, Ty Lee.” Mai growled before Yzako had a chance to reply. “Besides, nobody cares. Zuko is a jerk and I’m glad he’ll be dead soon.”

“Are you only saying that because you had a crush on him years ago and then he dumped you because he literally got banished?” Yzako rolled her eyes. “So you weren’t a good match. Big deal. Get over it.”

Azula couldn’t help the amused snort that left her mouth. Mai’s face was twisted in anger, and Yzako was seething...all over her stupid older brother. If she didn’t care about maintaining Yzako’s loyalty, she would have said something to remind her that Ozai literally tortured her in order to break her emotional bond with the banished prince, and if she was in a meaner mood, she would have told Mai that she had been a silly teenage girl with a schoolyard crush. Or, maybe, if she were feeling more bored, she would instigate something between the two of them and let them fight it out.

But alas, she needed everyone to get along so that they could actually get things done. Maybe she would have her chance to chastise them more in the future, when they were all back at the royal palace again.

“I will not tolerate infighting, ladies.” she said coldly. “You were both fools with a crush on the same idiot. Now, we are going to get rid of that idiot. Understood?”

“Yes, Azula,” they both grumbled, looking away in opposite directions. 

“Good. Ty Lee, no more instigating.”

“Fine,” she sighed, leaning her chin on her hand. 

For the next several hours, no one had anything important or interesting to say. Ty Lee chattered about her time in the circus, but she didn’t seem to need any responses in order to continue a conversation with herself. Her voice soon turned into white noise, little more than a constant drone in the background.

Yzako spent her time thinking, leaning her head back against the hull as she wandered through her own thoughts. She couldn’t take her mind off of Zuko, but instead of angrily pushing her memories of him away, she reminisced. There were so many nights that she had forgotten about in their months apart, so many gentle little touches and sweet nothings that she had lost or pushed aside. 

Her visit to the spirit world had helped clear her head, and Bailong’s words about her anger towards Zuko were worth thinking about. She could still feel all of that anger bubbling up inside of her, but when she thought of Zuko, it didn’t grow into the inferno it usually did. Bailong had told her that her anger was misplaced, and as much as she didn’t want to believe them, both Zuko and Iroh had told her the same thing. Maybe there was some truth to it. 

What was she supposed to do, though? Azula told her that Zuko had left her to die, and part of her believed it. After tracking him for miles and trying to kill him, he probably thought that she deserved to waste away somewhere in the mountains...and she wanted to be angry about that, but she just WASN’T. 

Yzako could barely remember the events immediately leading up to her near-death, but she could see Zuko’s bloody face looking up at her. She had knocked him onto his back, hadn’t she? Her claws had been around his throat, squeezing with all her might but hardly doing any damage, and he had said something...he had been speaking to her instead of fighting back, like an idiot, but what had he said? 

“You’re beautiful.”

Her eyes widened the tiniest bit as she heard his voice in her head. Zuko had said she was beautiful. Was he okay? What was wrong with him that he would dare say something like that as she bled and cried and tried to kill him? Had his time on the run made him stupid? Or...or did he really mean it?

Yzako closed her eyes. The more she flirted with the thought of not killing him, the lighter her chest began to feel. It was a slippery slope, one she had already gone down before, and she didn’t know if she was willing to brave it again. Bailong seemed to think that she was noble for sparing Zuko, and he was adamant that Ozai was using her for his own gain. Of course, she knew that...but wasn’t the Fire Lord taking care of her? Why would he starve and torture his own dragon when he clearly wanted to use her power?

She cracked her eyes open and looked over at Azula. She was sitting with her legs crossed at the knee, reading through a pile of scrolls. The princess had been in the palace the entire time Yzako was being held in the dungeons, and there was no doubt in her mind that Azula knew more than she was letting on. She still didn’t trust her, but she didn’t exactly have a plan of action yet. If she disobeyed Ozai and gave up her hunt for Zuko and Iroh, she would have to stay as far away from the Fire Nation as possible for the rest of her life. She doubted that he would let her fail him twice. What would she do then, though? Find some high mountaintop to live on and hide for years and years until she just...died? That wasn’t the kind of life she would be able to lead. 

“Yzako,” Azula said suddenly. “I have a letter from my father here pertaining to you. Shall I read it?”

Yzako gulped. “Yes.”

The princess skimmed over the scroll. “He wishes to express his deepest concerns for the health of his dragon, and hopes for a quick and full recovery.”

“You wrote to him?”

“Yes, of course I did. When I brought you back to our camp, I sent a messenger hawk to inform him of what happened.” Azula rolled the letter back up. “When we reach the edge of the desert, I’ll send another to tell him the good news.”

“Which good news?”

The princess scoffed. “The good news that you’re alive, Yzako. Honestly, keep up.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Right. Sorry.”

“He isn’t angry with you, if that’s why you were so relieved a moment ago.” Azula smiled. “If anything, Father is even more determined to bring the ones who did this to you to justice.”

Yzako wanted to argue and defend Iroh’s actions, but she held herself back. She didn’t need to give Azula even the tiniest suspicion that she might be slipping back to her old ways. “Of course. The Fire Lord is gracious, as always.”

Azula’s smile turned into a wide grin. “I’m glad you understand. Now, as soon as the desert is in sight, we will take a short break and then travel with the least amount of stops as possible. We don’t have time to dilly dally. Am I clear?”

Yzako only nodded, leaning her head back once more. Maybe by the time they reached Ba Sing Se, she would have some idea of what to do. Azula’s war machine was the fastest way to cross the desert, and staying with her was Yzako’s best bet for the moment, but she couldn’t help but wish she were elsewhere.

\---

Iroh grumbled and groaned, clutching his bandaged shoulder. Zuko just rolled his eyes, not even bothering to look back at him as they rode on. His uncle had been making awful sounds for hours, but every time Zuko asked if he needed something, the old man refused. 

“Maybe we should make camp.” he said flatly, fully aware of what the answer was going to be. 

“No, please,” Iroh groaned. “Don’t stop just for me.”

His moans were growing more and more dramatic. He clearly wanted attention, or to stop and look for tea ingredients, or something else stupid. When Zuko finally pulled back on the ostrich horse’s reins, he dismounted, holding the saddle for Iroh as he also slipped to the ground. 

“There, is that better?” Zuko asked, annoyed. 

“Yes, a bit.” Iroh answered curtly. 

Before Zuko could snap or hit him with a clever reply, the ostrich horse’s head shot up. A rumbling sounded in the distance, quickly growing louder as if its source was getting closer. Zuko didn’t know what it was, but he dropped into a fighting stance, peering through the trees in hopes of getting a glimpse. 

“What now?” Iroh sighed. 

As a group of komodo rhinos and their riders burst out of the underbrush, he had his answer. The men were all glaring at the two fugitives, their weapons held up at the ready as they surrounded them. Great, just what Zuko needed--a bunch of bounty hunters coming to annoy him. He didn’t know who they were, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of those stupid mountains once and for all, and these assholes were delaying him.

“Colonel Mongke, what a pleasant surprise!” Iroh said, stepping towards Zuko and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“If you’re surprised we’re here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps,” the colonel growled. He slashed his metal bracers together, glaring down from his komodo rhino. 

Zuko saw the others move, a spear wielder hoisting his weapon over his shoulders while a yuyan archer drew his bow. Another man held a long flail, its chains rattling as he swung it faster. 

“You know these guys?” he asked. 

“Sure,” Iroh answered. “Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapons specialist. They are also a very capable singing group.”

“We’re not here to give a concert!” Mongke snarled, his hands raised in fists. “We’re here to apprehend fugitives!”

“Would you like some tea first?” Iroh asked, holding his injured shoulder. “I’d love some. How about you, Kachi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?”

“Enough stalling!” Mongke yelled. “Round ‘em up!”

In a flash, the man holding the flail flicked it towards them. Iroh kicked it away with a grunt of effort, sending it wrapping around a rhino’s legs. When he jumped forward and slapped the beast’s rump, it took off, pulling both its rider and Iroh’s attacker away into the woods. 

Zuko heard the yuyan archer releasing an arrow and turned quickly, swinging his arm down just in time to chop it in half. The blast of fire he sent back towards the man snapped his bowstring, leaving him speechless and weaponless. Was this really all they had to offer? For a legend, they were pretty shitty. 

He saw Mongke throwing fire at Iroh and ran towards his rhino, jumping up onto its tail and giving the colonel a sweeping kick that had him flying into the dirt. Only seconds later, Iroh was riding their ostrich horse towards him, and Zuko was jumping onto its saddle, riding away towards the base of the mountain. The remaining Rough Rhino tried to follow, throwing an explosive after them, but it was to no avail; they were already disappearing through its smoke.

“It’s nice to see old friends,” Iroh commented, looking back over his shoulder. 

“Too bad you don’t have any old friends that don’t want to attack you,” Zuko said, holding onto his uncle’s waist as the ostrich horse sprinted. 

Iroh’s face fell as he thought about it. “Old friends who don’t want to attack me...no, I don’t think I have many of those…”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “At least they were easy to get rid of.”

“Yes, I am quite disappointed in Colonel Mongke’s lack of strategy. He let us go far too quickly. Perhaps he is the one who has lost a few steps, ha!”

Zuko groaned, leaning his head against Iroh’s back. “Right.”

“Well, at this rate, we’ll reach the edge of the desert by evening. There is a lovely little oasis we should stop to rest at.” Iroh said. 

“Fine. Whatever.” Zuko sighed. “Not like we have much of a choice.”

“No, unfortunately, we do not…” the old man frowned. “But, I believe we will find an easier way to cross the desert there than if we attempted it on our own. The sands are harsh and forgiving, inhabited only by the toughest of beasts and the sandbender tribes. I fear you and I would not fare well.”

“Sandbenders?” Zuko picked his head up. 

“Oh, yes! When I was a young general, we often had to cross the desert. We had many encounters with its people.” Iroh chuckled at the memories. “They are cunning earthbenders who rely on supply trading to support their communities. We may even meet some at the oasis.”

As they rode on, Zuko glanced back at the mountains. “Where do you think she is, uncle?”

“Yzako?” Iroh looked over his shoulder. “She is bound to be wherever Azula is...unfortunately, I must admit that I hope they are both far away from us.”

Zuko felt like he was going to deflate. “I just…I don’t understand what happened to her. She was so angry, and the look in her eyes was so...so….”

“Wild?” Iroh offered.

“Yes. She wasn’t herself. It was like she was afraid, but instead of running away, she wanted to stay and fight.”

“Perhaps she has been given no other choice,” his uncle stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Yzako was taken to the royal palace and there is no doubt in my mind that she was tortured. Whatever Ozai did to her was bad enough to make her think we are at fault.”

“Is she really wrong?” Zuko asked quietly. 

“Eh?” Iroh looked back at him. “Prince Zuko, she brought out a love and compassion in you that I have not seen in years. How could this be your fault?”

He swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump in his throat. “Things I said at the North Pole…when I found out she had been sent to kill me, I didn’t know what to think. I...I pushed her away, I couldn’t even look at her. Then when Zhao’s men captured her, I just...hid.” He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his against his uncle’s back once more. “I could have prevented this. If I had just gotten out of there with her, she would never have been sent to the palace and none of this would be happening.”

Iroh sighed deeply. “The past cannot be changed, Prince Zuko. We have both hurt Yzako in our own ways.”

“What if she doesn’t survive?” Zuko asked, voice muffled. “What if she’s already…”

“I know Yzako to be resilient and strong.” Iroh said as confidently as possible. “Time and time again, she is knocked down, and time and time again, she gets back up, stronger than before. While her current predicament is confusing and uncertain, I believe that she is alive...but we must get ourselves to safety.”

“I want to see her again, Uncle. I had her, for just a moment. She was back in my arms, and then I let her slip away.”

“I fear what may happen if we cross paths again. Both she and Azula are strong fighters, and if they are working together, I fear what they may be capable of.” Iroh shook his head. We must continue on north, towards the desert. There, we may be able to find refuge, or at least a way to hide.”

Zuko sighed, knowing his uncle was right. They didn’t have much of a choice at this point.

The ostrich horse ran on, and soon, they were leaving the mountains behind. The ground leveled out and the sun grew hotter, but before they had a chance to melt in the heat, Iroh and Zuko found themselves entering the Misty Palms Oasis.

It was a small cluster of buildings, a tiny village that seemed to harbor a grisly collection of unseemly folk. As the two firebenders walked towards the only bar in sight, Zuko glanced around nervously. No one here looked the slightest bit friendly or easy to deal with.

Inside the bar was even worse. 

“These people just look like filthy wanderers,” he said, sitting down at a table. 

“So do we,” Iroh smiled, taking a sip of his drink and looking around the room. His eyes settled on someone in the corner. “Ah, this is interesting...I think I’ve found our friend.”

Zuko couldn't believe his eyes. Iroh was getting up and heading towards an old man at a pai sho table across the bar. “You brought us here to gamble on pai sho? I thought we were trying to get help!”

“I don’t think this is a gamble,” Iroh said, leading his nephew over with him. When they reached the pai sho table, Iroh bowed, elbowing Zuko until he did the same. “May I have this game?”

The old man returned the bow, then gestured to the board. “The guest has the first move.”

Iroh sat down eagerly, placing a tile down in the center. Zuko just groaned and folded his arms. His uncle’s games took hours, and he wasn’t about to stand there and watch two old men gamble when he needed to be trekking across the desert. 

“Ah, I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways.” The stranger said. 

“Those who do can always find a friend.” Iroh clapped his hands together, then held them palms up. 

“Then let us play.”

Zuko watched them place tiles on the board. He didn’t have patience for pai sho, but their odd exchange had him curious. As the two opponents mirrored each other’s moves, they seemed to be forming a shape with their game pieces, and when it was finally finished, Zuko recognized it as the same design that was on the white lotus tile. 

“Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets.” The mystery man said.

Finally, Zuko couldn't take it any longer. “What are you old gasbags talking about?”

“I always try to tell you that pai sho is more than just a game,” Iroh said, a twinkle in his eye. 

“I’m not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping!” Someone behind them yelled. 

They all turned to see two men, one tall and bare chested, the other smaller and heavily robed. The larger man was stomping towards them, a grimace on his face as he moved quickly. 

“You fugitives are coming with me!”

Zuko braced himself for a fight, but before anything happened, their “friend” was on his feet. 

“I knew it!” He said loudly, pointing to Zuko and Iroh. “You two are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!”

“I thought you said he would help!” Zuko hissed.

“He is.” Iroh smiled. “Just watch.”

“You think you’re going to capture them and collect all that gold?” the man asked. 

“Gold?” someone across the room asked. 

Any conversation ceased as the bar patrons turned to look. Men were drawing knives from their belts with narrowed eyes, putting their drinks and food down. Within moments, a fight had broken out, and Iroh’s new friend was leading the old general and the banished prince out into the night. Okay, so he had helped them, after all...Zuko was a little irritated with himself for not understanding how easy it would be to just slip away rather than fighting. 

The man led them to a small flower shop, beckoning them in before closing the door quickly. 

“It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus.” he said, folding his hands in his sleeves and bowing. “Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets…”

Iroh smiled as the man walked past him. 

“Now that you’re done playing pai sho, are you gonna do some flower arranging, too?” Zuko asked in annoyance, following his uncle as he was led to a door at the back of the shop. “Or is someone in your little club going to offer us some real help?”

“You must forgive my nephew,” Iroh said. “He is not an initiate, and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts.”

The stranger only gave a nod before raising his fist and rapping at the door. Almost immediately, a small panel slid to the side, and a pair of eyes was revealed. 

“Who knocks at the guarded gate?” a voice asked. 

“One who has eaten the fruit, and tasted its mysteries,” Iroh said, smiling once again as the door opened. 

When Zuko tried to follow his uncle into the room, the door was shut in the face. Iroh’s eyes appeared in the little window at the top of it, serious and amused at the same time. 

“I’m afraid it’s members only. Wait out here.” he closed the panel again, leaving Zuko to pout on his own. 

When he turned to observe the small room, Iroh was faced with two men. His new friend from the pai sho board was sitting down at a small table, while a younger individual was standing next to him, presumably the person who had opened the door. 

“How can we be of assistance, Grand Lotus Iroh?” the older man asked, spreading his hands in an invitation. 

Iroh took it gladly, sitting down across from him. “My nephew, Prince Zuko, and I are Fire Nation fugitives. You may have heard.”

“Yes, sentries have informed me of your situation.” he bowed his head. “What do you feel is the best way to move forward? There are several remote locations we can establish you in, though the course of the war continues to threaten the world.”

“We must seek refuge in Ba Sing Se,” Iroh sighed. “The Fire Nation will find us wherever we go. The walled city is the one place they cannot enter.”

The man nodded to his compatriot next to him who bowed and slipped out of the room. “We will arrange transport and travel papers for the both of you. While we wait, would you care for some tea?”

“Yes, please,” Iroh said eagerly. 

The man smiled and stood, moving to a kettle in the back corner. “Please, correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard you prefer jasmine?”

“Ah, yes, you have heard correctly!” Iroh laughed, settling back in his chair. “Jasmine tea is one of life’s finest pleasures.”

“I couldn't agree more, Grand Master.” 

Soon, a cup of hot tea was in Iroh’s hands, and his new friend was sitting across from him once more. Iroh didn’t know the man’s name, only that he was a lower-ranking member of the White Lotus, and unless a name was offered, he would remain mysteriou The society’s constituents were spread throughout the world, living unassuming lives while connected through the sentries who passed information around to them. Iroh had heard of a Lotus member at the edge of the desert, and was glad to see that he had heard right. This man was their ticket to a safer life. 

The night stretched on as they enjoyed their tea in comfortable silence. Iroh’s thoughts turned to his nephew, sitting out in the storefront, probably grumpy and annoyed at having to wait out there on his own. Perhaps, someday, Zuko would be able to learn more about the White Lotus...but, then again, the society was secret for a reason. 

“Tell me,” Iroh finally spoke up, “what have you heard about a dragon in the mountains?”

The man across from him lowered his teacup to the table. “We have had reports of a fire-breathing beast, but little more information than that. Why? Is there something you need to know?”

“If possible, I would like someone’s protection guaranteed. Should a snake-eyed girl named Yzako approach any settlement seeking help, a Lotus member must offer it. I want her to receive safety and guidance, should she need it.”

“Is she associated with us, Grand Master? I have not heard of her before this.”

“She does not know of the order.” Iroh sipped his tea. “She is a victim of my brother, Fire Lord Ozai. I fear that she is in trouble. If this title means anything to you...she is known as the Golden Dragon.”

The other Lotus member bowed his head. “I will spread the word.”

“Thank you. Your help to all of us is much appreciated.” Iroh returned the bow. 

Several hours later, as dawn was breaking outside, Zuko heard the door open. His uncle and the other man finally appeared, both looking content, smiling as if they hadn’t just left him sitting out there the entire night. 

“What’s going on?” Zuko asked, jumping to his feet. “Is your meeting over?”

“Everything is taken care of,” Iroh answered, hands in his sleeves. “We’re heading to Ba Sing Se.”

“Ba Sing Se? Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital?”

“The city is filled with refugees,” the unnamed man said. “No one will notice two more.”

“We can hide in plain sight there.” Iroh smiled at his nephew. “And it’s the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn’t break through to the city.”

Zuko had to admit that he was right, and it wasn’t like they had many better options. When the front door opened, the other man walked inside, two papers in his hand. 

“I have the passports for our guests,” he said. “But there are two men out on the street looking for them.”

Zuko grimaced. Those guys from the bar were persistent, weren’t they? As he turned to the window, he saw the bare-chested man from the night before shoving a wanted poster around, forcing passersby to look at it. So his father had decided to send flyers out, had he? Did that mean he didn’t trust Yzako to finish her task, or was he just getting sick of waiting? Zuko hoped it was the latter, and nothing more. 

“Quickly, hide in these,” the older Lotus member said, pointing to some large pots sitting on a cart. “Those men are sure to check here before long.”

Zuko and Iroh did as they were told, grabbing hold of the flowers in the planters and pulling them up to reveal that they were merely decoys. The pots were big enough for them to climb into, and before long, they were being wheeled out through the oasis and towards the desert.


	41. The Serpent's Pass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since literally all I did all day yesterday was work on this fic, I'm gonna just keep updating nonstop. A lot of you have left nice comments about how quickly I've been updating, and I wanna say thank you! It's really motivating to see people enjoying and interacting! Since a few of you liked the playlist I posted several chapters ago, I'm going to start embedding the song I listen to most while writing each chapter. For my own purposes, I always name my chapters after a song, and then change the names to make more sense when I post them, but I thought that sharing the song could be fun, too! Some make more sense than others and there's a really wide variety, but if you like it, I'll go back and add them to each chapter!

“Ugh, finally!” Mai exclaimed, climbing out of the war machine after Azula. “I thought we’d never get out of that desert.”

“I know, right?” Ty Lee hopped to her feet, then flipped onto her hands to walk out upside down. “It feels sooooooo good to stretch my legs!”

Yzako followed them, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. They had reached a Fire Nation encampment on the southwestern edge of the East Lake, the shore full of battleships sailing in and out of the harbor. To the east, Yzako could just barely see a rocky wall stretching out across the water, narrow and sharp as it rose into the sky. 

“How do you like your clothing?” Azula asked, turning to her.

Yzako looked down at the Fire Nation tunic Azula had given her. “It’s fine, thank you.”

“Much better than that Earth Kingdom nonsense you were wearing, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it’s lovely.”

Azula nodded, hands clasped behind her back. “Then this is where we part ways. Mai, Ty Lee, and I will sail across the lake to the secret project War Minister Ching has been working on. I want you to scout the lake for any sign of the avatar.”

“The entire lake?” Yzako groaned. She was beginning to hate taking orders from the princess.

“Refugees are entering the city somehow. Our ships have yet to locate the harbor they leave from, and most of our manpower is being focused on Ching’s project. You, however, can scout the area from above. 

Yzako sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now, go on. We’ll rendezvous on the other side.”

She led Mai and Ty Lee away, heading to speak with the general in charge of the area. Yzako felt the usual surge of energy as Kul appeared, soldiers scrambling out of the way as the huge dragon stood amongst them. He lowered his head for Yzako and she climbed onto his neck, and together they took to the skies, flying in the direction of the rocks jutting up from the water. 

The flight was peaceful, but Yzako quickly grew bored. As the afternoon sun grew hot and then began to set again, all she had spotted were a few Fire Nation cruisers down in the lake below. There was no sign of a flying bison or its riders, nor did she see any ferries leaving from secret harbors. The lake was large, and by the time they were reaching its eastern edge, night was falling. Kull turned again, flying back towards the rocky pass in its center, and with nothing interesting to do or even look at, Yzako began to doze off. 

If she had stayed awake, she would have noticed the way Kul hissed at something below them. He wanted his human to get her sleep, though, and besides...a single Earth Kingdom ferry was nothing very interesting to a dragon. When he glanced back down at it, however, he could feel a familiar energy on the boat, and even from this distance, he could tell that it was a hot fire, burning brightly. 

The dragon didn’t dare swoop down to find out if it indeed belonged to Zuko and Iroh. Truth be told, he didn’t want Yzako to wake up and see them if they were there. He was tired, and far more interested in finding a nice, rocky peak to curl up around so that he could nap for a few hours. Still...if it was Zuko and Iroh, they needed to know to stay away. 

He lowered his head, still flying on, but looking down towards the ferry. He could see lines of energy flowing in and out of the humans sitting on its deck, two individuals shining especially brightly. Kul growled, the quiet noise soon turning into a high pitched roar. A jet of fire followed, burning white against the night sky. It was little more than a threat, but it was still an impressive sight, and once he was satisfied with himself, Kul picked his head back up and continued on. Yzako stirred, his roar waking her, but after a few moments of warm rumbling, Kul put her back to sleep. She didn’t need to know what he knew. She didn’t need to go running off towards a ferry covered in Earth Kingdom soldiers so soon after her near death experience. 

\--

Meanwhile, on the ferry, Zuko was sitting with Iroh and the ragtag little group of refugees they had met. Jet was passing around the food he and Zuko had just stolen from the ship’s kitchen, handing bowls of hot noodles to the rest of the passengers as they all sat on the deck. The boat had no special quarters, nowhere for them to sleep besides out in the open, and everyone looked as downtrodden and exhausted as they possibly could. The fresh food was a welcome sight, though, and a nice change from the slop they had been given earlier in the day. 

“So, Smellerbee,” Iroh said, addressing one of Jet’s friends. “That’s an unusual name for a young man.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m not a man,” she answered angrily. “I’m a girl!”

Iroh’s face fell as she got up and walked away. “Oh, now I see! It’s a beautiful name for a lovely girl!”

Longshot, the quiet boy who was with them, went after her, and Zuko watched them talk for a moment before Smellerbee seemed to calm down. He honestly didn’t know she was a girl, either...his mouth just wasn’t as big as his uncle’s. Picking up his bowl of noodles, he slurped them down greedily, glad to have a real meal finally. He had spent the day complaining about the terrible food he and Iroh had been living off of since they crossed the desert, and Jet had overheard. Next thing he knew, they were breaking into the kitchen and stealing the delicious, fresh meals that were being prepared for the captain. 

As Jet finished handing out bowls, he returned to them, sitting down across from Zuko. “People eat like this every night in Ba Sing Se. I can’t wait to set my eyes on that giant wall.”

“It is a magnificent sight,” Iroh said. 

“So you’ve been there before?” Jet asked eagerly, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. 

“Once. When I was a...different man.” Iroh looked down, almost seeming ashamed. 

“I’ve done some things in my past that I’m not proud of.” Jet said. “But that’s why I’m going to Ba Sing Se...for a new beginning. A second chance.”

“That’s very noble of you.” Iroh looked back up. “I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. His uncle’s words were very obviously directed towards him. 

“That’s good,” Jet said. “I think more people need to give second chances. Otherwise, how can someone who’s trying to be better actually redeem themselves?”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Iroh smiled over at Zuko. “Sometimes, we all make mistakes. It is when we try to right those wrongs that we deserve the most compassion and understanding from others.”

Zuko huffed and looked away. He didn’t want to get into any of this now. He knew his uncle was trying to make him feel guilty about attacking the Southern Water Tribe, and being an asshole to his crew, and trying to capture the avatar, and then dragging him out into the middle of the tundra, and then being an even bigger asshole, but he didn’t care. The only thing that was really hitting home and making his stomach churn was the guilt he felt surrounding Yzako. 

A loud screeching sound wrenched him away from his thoughts. It was all too familiar, a draconic roar that he hadn’t heard in days. Zuko jumped to his feet, running to the railing and looking out over the lake. There, in the dark sky, he saw a dragon, its body barely visible, but the fire pouring from its jaws burning white. It was flying away from them, heading west, and the fact that it hadn’t stopped to set them all ablaze was astounding.

He looked back at his uncle, who shared the same stunned expression. Well, at least they knew Yzako was alive. 

“What the hell is that?!” Jet asked, standing next to Zuko.

The refugees around them were sharing similar thoughts out loud, hugging each other close as they huddled on the deck. They all looked scared, staring up at the sky in shock. This was supposed to be a safe passage, not one full of beasts and fire.

“It’s okay,” Zuko said. “They’re--it’s leaving.”

“Was that a dragon?” Smellerbee asked as Zuko and Jet sat down again. 

“Well, it certainly sounded like one,” Iroh said, playing dumb, like usual. “I wonder what it could be doing all the way over here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dragons were native to the Fire Nation. I have never seen anything referencing them in the Earth Kingdom...have you?”

She shook her head. “No. But...what is it doing?”

“Does that mean the Fire Nation found this ferry route?” Jet grit his teeth. 

“Let us hope not.”

Jet devolved into an angry, anti-firebender rant that Iroh listened to with great amusement, but Zuko couldn’t pay attention. He was looking out at the sky, wondering why Kul hadn’t simply flown down and made a bigger scene. Yzako had to be riding on his back, but why not make an appearance? Had she somehow followed them across the desert without them seeing, or had she and Azula ended up so close to Ba Sing Se for different reasons? As hours passed and there were no more signs of the dragon or his girl, Zuko finally forced himself to relax, laying down on the cold deck and praying for sleep. 

\--

Yzako awoke to the sight of the blue sky. Kul was sleeping, curled up around her, and when she stood she saw that they were on top of one of the rocky peaks cutting up through the lake. Her dragon lifted his head, grumbling a good morning greeting before he rose to his feet and shook himself. 

“Good morning to you too,” Yzako laughed, putting a hand on his snout. 

He shoved at her playfully, seeming to be in good spirits. 

“So much for finding anything interesting out here,” she said as she stretched. “There’s nothing worth looking at in this lake aside from Fire Nation ships that Azula should already know about. We didn’t even find that stupid ferry.”

Kul nodded in agreement. Yzako had no idea that he had spotted Zuko and Iroh, and that’s the way he wanted it. If they came across them during the day, maybe it would be a different story, but he was happy that he had gotten the rest he wanted over the night. 

“We might as well go meet Azula. She’s probably on the other side of the lake by now.” Yzako climbed up onto Kul’s neck and he jumped into the air.

They flew above the rocky spine that separated each side of the lake. There was a spot in the middle that seemed to have been flooded, a narrow pass that allowed boats in and out. As they skimmed above the water, Kul dipping his toes in, they saw the serpentine humps of a large monster swimming nearby. Kul quickly rose in the air once more, not exactly looking for a fight with a giant water snake, but what he saw on the other side of the pass was something far less intimidating and far more fun to bother.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Sokka yelled, running forward as the dragon slammed into the cliffside above him.

Kul’s claws were gripping the rocks, his head whipping around as he pushed off from them again. Yzako was grinning wildly at the sight of the avatar and his friends, one of her hands wrapped around Kul’s horn as he played with his prey. Finding the avatar was exactly what she needed right now, and if her dragon wanted to have some fun before they took Aang to Azula, who was she to deny him?

“I thought there was only one serpent in the Serpent’s Pass!” Sokka screamed as Kul snapped at him. 

The dragon’s snout was suddenly hit by a flying rock, but he barely noticed. Yzako lit her free hand up in white flames as she looked down at the earthbender girl standing with Katara, who seemed to be directing her movements. 

“It’s been too long!” Yzako yelled as Kul circled over them. “You’ve got some new friends, I see!”

“Yzako, what are you doing?” Aang shouted, shielding his face from the debris raining down. 

“Letting my dragon have some fun!”

“This isn’t funny!” Katara yelled, her voice stern. “You get down here or leave us alone this instant!”

Kul just roared back. 

“I don’t think he wants to be mothered right now, sorry,” Yzako laughed. 

“Katara, get everyone to safety!” Aang yelled, opening his glider and leaping into the air. “I’ll take care of this!”

Kul followed the avatar eagerly, snapping at his feet as the airbender flew away. He was leading them out over the lake, distracting them from the refugees traveling with his friends. 

“This isn’t a very nice game, Kul!” he yelled back at them. “You’re going to get someone hurt!”

“He’s been bored!” Yzako replied. “And so have I!”

Aang circled back, flying nexto Kul’s head so that he could speak with Yzako. “Where have you been? We haven’t seen you since the north pole, and you weren’t with Zuko when we met him in that mining town.”

“Wait, you saw Zuko?” Yzako was suddenly glad she hadn’t gone straight for trying to capture him now. 

“His uncle, too. And he got hurt...by that girl!”

“What girl?”

“The girl from Omashu!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Black hair, she’s scary, said she was related to Zuko, called him Zuzu…”

“...Wait, you met Azula?” Yzako leaned towards him, hooking her arm around Kul’s horn. “She didn’t kill or capture you?”

“Obviously not!” Aang shook his head. “She tracked us through the mountains and I led her to an abandoned mining town. Zuko showed up too, and Azula hurt his uncle.”

An uneasy feeling was rising in Yzako’s stomach. “Well, they’re fugitives. Enemies of the Fire Nation, actually, just like you.”

“Really? Why?”

“Their repeated failures and actions against their country.”

“Well...what about you?” Aang asked. “Weren’t you helping them?”

“No!” Yzako snapped. “Fire Lord Ozai charged me with killing Zuko.”

Aang stared at her. “No offense, but...you’re pretty bad at killing him.”

“Shut up!”

Kul turned to snap at the avatar, but Aang just rolled out of the way and reappeared on their other side. “I mean it! You never acted like you even wanted to!”

“You don’t know me,” Yzako growled. 

“No, I don’t...but I know that you don’t actually want to kill Zuko.” Aang smiled at her. “I can tell from your voice. I don’t know what’s happened to you since the north pole, but you’re not like Azula.”

“How did you beat her, exactly?” Yzako asked. It wasn’t like Azula to just give up like that, especially if the avatar and Zuko were right in front of her. She hadn’t even mentioned running into them...in fact, she had said that she found Yzako in the middle of nowhere, hadn’t she?

“After she shot lightning at their uncle, she ran.” Aang shrugged. “I don’t know where she ran off to, and Zuko wouldn’t let us help him.”

“Because he’s a stubborn fool.”

“Yeah, well...so are you.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look at you! You won’t even admit that you don’t want to kill him when it’s written all over your face!” Aang rolled his eyes. “The monks used to tell me that it’s better to let go of your anger. They said that it does nothing but hurt and distract us from the world. Maybe you just need to get rid of yours.”

“Oh yeah? Did the monks have any other useless teachings for you?” Yzako asked bitterly. She still wasn’t ready to let go of her anger, even though Bailong had said something similar. It had become somewhat of a comforting feeling for her, the very thing that she had clung to in order to survive her torture. Letting go of it completely seemed...well, impossible.

“Yes, actually.” Aang ignored her tone. “The Air Nomads always told me that revenge was bad. They said it was like a two-headed rat viper...if you destroy your enemy, you only poison yourself in the process.”

“That’s stupid.”

“I don’t think so. And I don’t think you want to follow through with killing Zuko, or with capturing me.”

“What makes you so confident?”

“You’re hesitating. You let Kul play with Sokka instead of just burning everyone up. You knew that we wouldn’t stand a chance if you surprised us like that.”

“So?”

“So, I think you should come back and apologize to everyone for scaring them. Especially Sokka.”

She stared at him. “You realize I’m supposed to either take you prisoner or kill you, right?”

“Yeah...but I’m pretty confident you won’t.” Aang smiled. “Now come on. You especially owe Sokka and the refugees we’re with an apology.”

“Are you hearing this shit?” she asked, leaning down to look at Kul. 

If the dragon could, he would have shrugged. 

“Ugh, fine.” Yzako looked back up at Aang. “I’m still sore from practically dying anyways. But after this, you’re fair game. Got it?”

“Works for me!”

He led Kul back down to the Serpent’s Pass, following the trail through the rocks until he found the others. Toph had created an earth tent up against the cliff wall, but she and Sokka were both sitting outside it, along with one of the refugees. Katara and the other girls were all absent, including the pregnant woman Yzako had glimpsed before.

Sokka screamed when Kul landed, brandishing his boomerang at Yzako as she dropped down to the ground. 

“Relax,” Aang said, folding his glider up. “Yzako and Kul are here to apologize for scaring everyone.”

“What?!” Sokka’s jaw dropped. “If you feel so bad about attacking us, maybe don’t attack in the first place!”

“Don’t be dramatic.” Yzako rolled her eyes. 

“I haven’t heard an actual apology yet.”

“You’re making it hard to keep my word, Ponytail.”

“Yzako,” Aang said sternly. “You agreed. Say you’re sorry.”

“Fine!” she tossed her hands up in defeat. “Sorry for freaking you all out so bad. There, is that better?”

“No.” Sokka huffed, turning away. 

“Where’s Katara?” Aang asked, looking around. “And Suki, and the others?”

“In there.” Toph pointed to the tent.

“Ying is having her baby,” the refugee finally spoke up. He looked nervous, biting his nails as he glanced around. “She wasn’t supposed to go into labor until we reached the city…”

“Yzako literally scared a baby out of a pregnant lady,” Sokka turned back around, pointing an accusatory finger at her. 

“What? Me? How was I supposed to know?”

“You don’t think before you attack people, do you?”

“Shut up, Ponytail.”

“Dragonbreath!”

“Guys, come on!” Aang said, exasperated. “This isn’t the time for this. Does Katara need anything?”

“Yes, she does!” Katara poked her head out of the earth tent. “Rags, and water. Now. Yzako, get in here.”

“What?” her face dropped. “No way. I didn’t come here to deliver babies. I have a war to go fight--”

Before she could finish, Kul began pushing her towards the tent entrance with his snout. Even when she dug her heels into the dirt, she was no match for his strength, and soon, she was awkwardly standing next to Katara. 

“Wh-what is that?” Suki asked as she held the laboring woman’s hand as she leaned against a rock. 

Kul’s big head was taking up the entire doorway, his nose just barely poking in. He made a rumbling sound in his throat, closing his eyes. 

“Yzako, should he be in here?” Katara asked as she massaged the woman’s stomach. 

“Kul? Yeah, he’s fine. He uh...sort of watched my birth, I think…but look, he even closed his eyes for you.”

“Just keep him out of the way.”

“Hey, you should be grateful,” Yzako snapped. “Dragons are lucky. And a golden dragon is even luckier! And The Golden Dragon, AKA me, is probably the luckiest thing you could ever have around during labor--”

Katara gave her a look telling her to shut up. 

“...What do you need me to do?”

“Help me prop Ying up. She needs to be squatting when the baby comes.”

“This better not make a mess of my clothes,” Yzako growled, moving into place at Ying’s side. 

“Oh, boo hoo. I’ll wash them for you.” Katara rolled her eyes. “Have you ever helped with a birth before?”

“No. It seems straightforward though, right?” Yzako put an arm around Ying’s shoulders, tensing as the woman leaned back against her. “Doesn’t it just...come out?”

“Not quite,” Suki laughed. 

Ying grunted loudly, reaching for Yzako’s hand. The girl took it, eyes widening as Ying squeezed. How did one woman have such strength? Was this what labor did to people? 

“Ying?” a man shouted from outside. “C-Can I come in?”

“Than?” Ying moaned in pain. 

Kul’s head moved aside and the man walked in nervously, holding a pile of rags and a bucket of water. Soon, he was at Ying’s side, helping Yzako hold his wife up. Katara assured everyone that things were going smoothly, and eventually, a baby girl was born. At the sound of her cry, Kul finally opened his eyes, blowing warm, gentle air over the group.

“What’s he..?” Suki started to ask. 

“It’s uh...like a blessing,” Yzako said. 

“...Do all dragons do that?”

She shrugged. “He did it when I was born. Just with more fire.”

Suki decided not to ask any more questions. 

The afterbirth eventually passed as well without any complications, and as everyone rejoiced and relaxed, Yzako helped Katara wash the rags she had used to clean up. She held them up, wrinkling her nose at the sight of so much blood while Katara used waterbending to soak them. 

“Birth is disgusting.” Yzako said. 

Katara laughed. “What, squeamish?”

“No, I can handle blood. Just last week I was practically choking on it.” Yzako snorted. “I guess it’s just...different.”

“I’m glad you were here. It’s always nice to have an extra helper...or three, and a dragon. I bet this was pretty different from Fire Nation births, though.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Yzako shrugged. “I spent most of my life in the temple, and before that I wasn’t really old enough to help in my village.”

“Oh, right…” Katara frowned. “I used to help my grandmother all the time. When all the men left to fight in the war, there were a lot of mothers who were all alone. I don’t think anyone should have to go through something like that without some help.”

“It was pretty horrifying, I won’t lie.” Yzako looked over at the group. 

Ying was sitting, the baby swaddled up in a blanket. Kul was laying behind them, peering down at the new arrival and rumbling happily. When he noticed that she was watching, his gaze shifted to Yzako, looking at her pointedly. 

“What?” she asked. 

He looked back at the baby and made a trilling sound, the kind a mother bird would use on her own young. The dragon was absolutely elated, tickling the infant’s head with one of his whiskers and making one of his strange laughing sounds as she tried to grab at him with pudgy little hands. 

“Wow, he’s a natural,” Katara laughed. 

“Well, if these people ever need a babysitter, I’ll loan him out.” Yzako couldn’t help the amusement in her voice. 

Kul looked back up at Yzako and snorted at her, jabbing a whisker towards her and then back at the baby. 

“What? Oh no, you’ve gotta find your own baby, mister.” she glared at him. 

He gave her a look. 

Katara’s laugh only grew louder. “Why’s he so stuck on this?”

Yzako shrugged. “Who knows. He hasn’t seen a baby since I was born, and the sages never even talked about children. I think he used to bless new arrivals in our village or something, since he was worshipped so much there. Honestly, he hasn’t even heard anyone mention anything about babies since…” her voice trailed off as she thought about the talks she and Zuko used to have about their future. 

Katara noticed the change in her attitude and paused in her work. “What’s wrong? I didn’t say anything, did I? Yzako, I’m sorry if you….”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Yzako said quickly. “No, it just...came up once. Are we finished? I need to leave before Azula gets suspicious.”

“Why not travel with us? What’s going on?”

“I need to get back to Azula. I have a lot to figure out.” she dropped the last clean rag back into the bucket and faced the others. “Kul, come on. Stop playing with the baby and let’s go.”

The dragon growled in annoyance, slowly standing up and lowering his head for her to climb up. 

“Yzako,” Aang called, running up to her. “I’ll come with you.”

“What? No! Azula will see you and then I’ll just be ratting myself out!” she shook her head as she sat down. 

“Wait!” Than walked up to her other side. “Thank you for helping my wife today. Are you traveling to Ba Sing Se as well?”

“Yes...sort of….”

“Well, please, take this as thanks.” He shoved a bundle of food into her hands. “It’s the least we can do. What did you say your name was again? I want to remember your gratitude.”

She took the food from him. Did he really want to know who she was? He was a refugee, running from the same people she was working for. She remembered her talk with Bailong, though, about her title and duties, and she squared her jaw. 

“I’m Yzako. Golden Dragon of the Fire Nation.” she said, ascending towards the sky as Kul raised his head up proudly. 

Than stared after her, his face shocked. As a refugee displaced by the war, he hated the Fire Nation, loathed it and its people...but here was an actual title-bearing firebender right in front of him, and she had just helped deliver his baby. 

“Wait, Yzako, I’ve got it!” Aang grabbed his glider and took the air, flying around Kul’s head. “You can chase me! That way, we’ll both get to Ba Sing Se, and you look good in front of Azula!”

Yzako didn’t have a chance to decide for herself before Kul was following the avatar eagerly, rushing after him as if they were playing a game. 

“Was that weird to anyone else?” Sokka asked, watching the two disappear. 

“I think she’s got a lot on her mind,” Katara said, hugging herself. “She’s sad about Zuko.”

Sokka rolled his eyes. “So? He’s a jerk! He makes everyone sad!”

Katara glared at him. “Shut up, Sokka.”

“What? I’m right, and you know it!” he followed his sister as she packed up their things to leave. “What was with that violent entrance earlier, too?”

“Aang must have talked with her, because she was perfectly useful today.” Katara shrugged. “Come on. We need to get walking. Ba Sing Se isn’t far now.”


	42. The Drill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those chapters where the song I've been listening to doesn't super make sense, but it's fun and badass and it makes me think of Yzako lol

Kul followed Aang, enjoying their chasing game. Whenever the avatar slowed down, the dragon snapped at him, and as Ba Sing Se came into view, Aang found himself narrowly dodging a few blasts of fire. 

“Hey, watch it!” he yelled. 

“It has to look convincing!” Yzako shouted back. 

The closer they grew to the city, the more shapes they were beginning to see on the ground. There were Fire Nation troops approaching the outer wall, countless war machines surrounding one massive, moving drill. 

Aang’s face fell. “Oh no…”

Yzako looked down curiously. “Huh, so that’s what Ching has been working on…”

“You knew about this?” Aang asked angrily. 

“No! Not really, I mean, Azula just said that War Minister Ching had a secret project across the lake. This must be their latest attempt at taking Ba Sing Se.”

“I have to go back and warn the others.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Yzako said as Kul snapped at him again. “Azula will definitely see. I guarantee she’s already watching us somehow.”

“Fine!” he folded his staff in mid air, using it to create a massive blast of wind. 

Kul’s outstretched wings caught the gust and he was thrown back, roaring in irritation. He fell towards the ground, desperately twisting so that he wouldn’t hit the giant drill that was headed for Ba Sing Se. By the time he had righted himself, Aang was hurrying back to the Serpent’s Pass, and Yzako felt like she was going to throw up from all the spinning.

“Fuck all of that, I’m going to kill him,” she growled. 

Kul nodded his head in agreement before dipping down toward the machine. A tall command tower rose from the top of it, no doubt housing the war minister and Azula. As Kul circled it, a door at the very top opened, a soldier stepping out. 

“Golden Dragon!” he shouted over the sound of the drill. “Princess Azula requests your presence inside!”

Kul got as close to the narrow catwalk as he could and Yzako took the soldier’s outstretched hand, slipping off of the dragon and stumbling into the command bridge. Kul disappeared a moment later, leaving the girl to face Azula. 

“Ah, Yzako.” she greeted. “Welcome. I’d like you to meet War Minister Ching, the man behind this machine.”

She gestured to the tall man next to her, who bowed. “Golden Dragon, it is an honor.”

Yzako bowed her head to him, then looked back at Azula. “Is this the secret project? Where are Mai and Ty Lee.”

“It is indeed. They should be back any moment. I sent them to take care of the little earthbender problem out in front of the wall.” the princess said. “Am I correct in assuming I just saw you chasing the avatar?”

“You are.”

“Did I just see him evade you?”

“Did you also see the gale force winds that threw my entire dragon off course and hurtling towards your drill?” Yzako asked, her voice sharp with irritation. 

Azula just waved her off. “No matter. If the avatar cares about this city, he’ll return to try to do something about this machine.”

“The avatar is no match for Fire Nation ingenuity,” Ching laughed. “Before the day’s end, Ba Sing Se will be ours, and the Earth Kingdom will crumble.”

“We’ll see about that, war minister.” Azula resisted rolling her eyes before pulling Yzako to the side. “Come with me.”

“What?” she followed the princess over to a window overlooking the rocky plains that surrounded the outer wall.

“What do you think of War Minister Ching’s efforts?” Azula asked, hands folded behind her back. 

“He seems confident in his ability to breach the wall.” Yzako said. “Do you have doubts?”

“The Fire Nation has been trying to take Ba Sing Se for decades. I had to send Mai and Ty Lee out to make sure their warriors couldn’t get to this drill. Two girls were able to do what dozens of our soldiers have been struggling with.”

“They’re both talented, to be fair.”

“Yes, they are...but it doesn’t bode well for this mission.” Azula narrowed her eyes. “If the avatar returns, I have no doubt that he and his compatriots will try to take this drill down one way or another. When we reach the wall, I want you outside this drill making sure there are no...complications.”

Yzako just nodded, keeping her face straight. Not even an hour ago, she had been chatting with Katara about babies. Now, she was helping Azula destroy the city so many refugees were trying to escape to.  
She was beginning to realize just how fucked up it was. 

\---

“So. Mr. Lee, and Mr....Mushy, is it?” the customs lady asked, peering at their passports. 

Zuko and Iroh had disembarked the ferry and made their way to the Ba Sing Se immigration border, where they were faced with a portly woman sitting at a stone booth. The rest of their night had passed uneventfully, with no more dragon sightings and nothing of any interest to report, but Zuko had found it difficult to sleep as he thought of Yzako. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was around for a bad reason, but when nothing befell him, he was at a loss as to what could be happening.

“It’s pronounced ‘Mushi,’” Iroh said politely.

“You tellin’ me how to do my job?” the woman asked. 

“Uh, no!” he waved his hands hurriedly, stepping up to her window. “No, no. But may I just say, you’re like a flower in bloom? Your beauty’s intoxicating.”

Her expression softened into a smirk. “You’re pretty easy on the eyes yourself, handsome. Welcome to Ba Sing Se.”

She stamped the passports and slid them over the counter to Iroh. Zuko snatched his away as his uncle turned to him, his shoulders hunched in horror and embarrassment as they began walking. 

“I’m going to forget I saw that.” he growled. 

They walked out of customs and into the train station, sitting down at a bench as they waited. Jet soon joined them, making small talk as they watched the room. Zuko had never lived anywhere we had to deal with public transit, and it was completely foreign to him. People clustered together near the tracks or leaned against pillars, waiting boredly while men pushed carts of cheap snacks and drinks around for them. 

“Get your hot tea here!” one yelled. “Finest tea in Ba Sing Se!”

“Oh, Jasmine please!” Iroh called to him, waving. 

The man gave him a small cup and poured fresh tea into it, walking away as Iroh took a sip. He immediately spat it back out, coughing and sputtering at the taste. 

“Coldest tea in Ba Sing Se is more like it!” he said. “What a disgrace!”

Zuko rolled his eyes. 

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Jet asked, standing up. 

With a sigh, Zuko stood and followed. He didn’t know what to think of this strange “freedom fighter,” but he knew that he wasn’t the person Jet thought he was. He had such a deep hatred of everything firebender-related, and he already thought Zuko’s scar was the result of a Fire Nation raid. 

“You and I have a much better chance of making it in this city if we stick together,” Jet said as they walked several feet away from Iroh. “You wanna join the Freedom Fighters?”

“Thanks, but I don’t think you want me in your gang.” Zuko shook his head. 

“Come on, we made a great team looting that captain’s food. Think of all the good we could do for these refugees.”

“I said no.” Zuko said coldly, turning and walking back to his uncle. 

“Have it your way,” Jet watched him go, his eyes narrowed. 

When Zuko reached Iroh, he was infuriated to see that he had heated his tea up. He slapped it out of his hands quickly, leaning in with an angry hiss. 

“What are you doing firebending your tea?” he growled. “For a wise old man, that was a pretty stupid move!”

“I know you’re not supposed to cry over spilled tea, but…” Iroh sniffed some crocodile tears, weeping into his sleeve. “It’s just so sad…”

“Shut up!” Zuko whispered. 

When he turned to look at Jet, he saw that the Freedom Fighter was still standing there, watching him with a furious expression on his face. Zuko returned it, scrunching his nose in a snarl. Their first day in Ba Sing Se, and their new lives were already in jeopardy thanks to his uncle’s little stunt. 

When Jet turned around and left, Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe if they didn’t fuck up anymore, he and his uncle would be okay. They could lie their way out of a simple hot tea situation, and nobody was more likely to believe Jet over them. They were all just refugees headed for the lower ring, destined to live in slums unless they managed to crawl their way out to a nicer life.

The train came and they boarded, Iroh sitting comfortably while Zuko stood in front of him and hung onto one of the handrails. The customs station disappeared behind them as they rushed towards the lower ring, and he realized that this was finally it. There was no going back. He might never even leave Ba Sing Se again. He wasn’t guaranteed anything here, and there was a good chance he would spend the rest of his life living in poverty and hiding from his own family. 

He might never see Yzako again, too. 

\---

“We have breached the outer wall!” a voice boomed through the drill. 

Azula nodded to Yzako and she returned it, stepping outside. The sound of the machine hitting Ba Sing Se’s great wall was deafening, a massive dust cloud surrounding it as it pushed its way into the city. Shielding her eyes, she reached out for Kul, feeling for his horns as he materialized in the air next to her. 

When her hand found what it was looking for, her fingers wrapped around it and she hoisted herself up, clinging as Kul flew away from the drill. At the top of the wall, a line of earthbenders were throwing boulders down, but the rocks only bounced off the machine attacking them. Maybe the war minister had been right, after all; the drill was making good progress, and Ba Sing Se’s defenses didn’t seem prepared to handle something of its magnitude. 

Kul flew up towards the earthbenders, bathing them in a shower of fire. They threw up a stone shield to protect themselves, only barely withstanding the heat before the dragon circled back again. He dodged flying rocks, roaring up at the soldiers before coming back for a second pass over them. 

There, in the clouds, Yzako was able to see all of Ba Sing Se. It was huge, crowded with houses upon houses, and a few smaller walls separated the rich from the poor. She was utterly transfixed by the sight; she had never imagined so many people could live in one place, and she could hardly believe that she was still seeing trains running along elevated tracks even as the city was being attacked. Didn’t they have any idea what was happening just on the other side of the outer wall? How could they just continue on as if nothing was happening?

Kul gave a screech that drew Yzako’s attention back from Ba Sing Se, and she had just enough warning to hug him tightly before he tucked his wings in and dove down towards the drill. When he leveled out again, she saw the avatar standing on top of it, dodging the same boulders that they were. He was using a stream of water to cut at the metal, no doubt trying to slice his way inside. 

“Yzako!” a new voice shouted as she dropped to stand on the drill. 

Kul disappeared, sick and tired of trying to avoid the rocks raining down on top of him, and Yzako straightened up to see that Azula had appeared on Aang’s other side. They had the avatar surrounded, and soon, the three of them were locked in battle. Yzako treated it as if she were sparring with Azula, matching the princess’s movements while the avatar danced between them. 

A boulder landed immediately next to Yzako and she bounced back, kicking fire towards Aang at the same time. The avatar used broken chunks of rock to shield himself, protecting both his front and back. As he threw those same rocks at his attackers, Azula hit him with so much heat and force that he was thrown back, heading straight for Yzako. 

Her back slammed into the wall, all the wind knocked out of her lungs as she and the avatar both fell forward. With a cough, she pushed herself up just in time to see Azula approaching, and she scrambled to her feet. Yzako grabbed Aang’s arm, hauling him up with her and presenting him to the princess, who grabbed the front of his shirt with an angry look on her face. 

Yzako stood at her side as Azula pinned Aang against the wall. The drill slowed, signaling that it had broken through to the other side. This was it. As Azula’s and lit up with blue flames, Yzako realized that this could be the end. Should she do something? She was breathing hard, panting as she watched Aang try to open his eyes. The avatar was about to die right in front of her….

And she wasn’t moving a muscle. 

As Azula moved to finish it, Aang suddenly threw his arm out, covering it in rock armor and stopping her hand. He pushed the princess back and then did the same to Yzako, both girls stumbling away. The drill gave a massive shudder below them, throwing both of them off to the side, and Yzako watched in horror as a muddy sludge erupted from weak spots in the hull. The sludge was impossible to walk on, and as she and Azula tried to run back towards the Avatar, they both found themselves sliding over the curved side of the drill.

Yzako’s grabbed at the metal wildly, the friction of her bare skin causing her to scream in pain. She flew down past Azula, narrowly missing her, and landed on her back in the mud below. With a groan, she looked up, propping herself on her elbows as she watched the avatar drive a rocky spike into the drill. He ran up the side of the wall, coming down just in time for Azula to climb back up and try to face him. 

The princess was thrown back in an explosion of sludge, the entire drill halting and falling apart before their very eyes. So, it seemed Ching’s plans weren’t foolproof, after all. Yzako wasn’t entirely surprised; the avatar had a knack for thwarting the Fire Nation at every turn, and it seemed that this was no exception. 

She climbed to her feet, grunting in pain. Her back hurt, her chest hurt, her ribs were sore, she had a headache...and now, her fingers and toes were red and raw. She winced with every step, plopping down in the mud once she reached Azula and Ty Lee. 

“We lost,” Mai said boredly, appearing in an open doorway at the back of the drill. 

Azula glared up at her. “Now is not the time, Mai.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Ty Lee asked, flopping back down in defeat. 

“We need to clean up, and regroup.” Azula said. She looked down at Yzako. “Yzak, go after the avatar.”

“Excuse me?”

“Find a way into this city. At the very least, you can find a way to bring this wall down from the inside.”

Yzako sat up. “Did you not just see how this entire drill failed miserably?”

“The drill was coming from the outside.” Azula smirked. “Enter this city, find the avatar, and then we’ll regroup.”

“Regroup where, exactly?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Now, chop chop. Your old clothes are inside. I would suggest changing.”

Yzako rolled her eyes and stood slowly. She was sick of taking orders from the princess. Yes, she would enter Ba Sing Se...but she didn’t necessarily want to leave it again. If she managed to find a way in, she planned to stay for a while. It was a city of refugees, and while she wasn’t exactly one of them, she was tired and broken enough to pass as one. 

She changed into her Earth Kingdom attire, leaving her muddy uniform behind and setting off as stealthily as possible with nothing but her pack slung over her shoulder. If nothing else, she was glad to be getting a break from Azula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think?? Yzako is heading into Ba Sing Se...I can't wait to post the next chapter. Things are gonna get fun!


	43. Ba Sing Se

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having so much fun doing daily updates omg

“What did you say your name was?”

“Shi, ma’am.”

“Then why does this passport say Li Wei?”

“That’s my husband, ma’am,” Yzako batted her eyelashes as she looked up at the customs lady. “He recently passed, and I...well, I couldn’t find mine today, and--”

“No passport, no entry. How did they even let you onto the ferry, anyways?” the woman barely glanced up at her.

“Th-they clearly thought I have good reason to be here!” Yzako said quickly. 

In truth, she had never set foot on the ferry. After leaving the drill earlier that day, she had snuck straight into the Ba Sing Se customs gates, slipping into line and standing with all the other refugees traveling into the city. Along the way, she had found a lost passport...but it didn’t seem like it was much help.

“Get out of my sight before I call the guards,” the grumpy customs lady said, waving her away. 

Yzako groaned, stepping out of line to go sit on a bench. Just her luck. How was she supposed to know that it would actually be difficult to enter a walled city? The wall was supposed to keep out invaders, not her!

“You seem troubled,” a voice said. 

Yzako stiffened and turned. A man had sat down at the bench behind hers, their heads practically next to each other. He was wearing dark blue and silver robes, and while she couldn’t get a good look at his face, she could tell that he was old. He had a thin, gray beard, a small hat perched atop his balding head.

“Do I?” she asked bitterly. 

“You have a friend within the city walls, Golden Dragon.”

She froze, eyes wide. “What did you just say to me?”

The mysterious man just bowed his head, standing. “The white lotus will always blossom for those worthy of her bloom.”

With that, he was gone, disappearing into the crowd. When she looked down, she saw that he had left behind a passport and a pai sho tile. Snatching both up, she saw that the passport had a golden seal on it in the shape of a badger mole and the Earth Kingdom symbol in the lower left corner. The name on it was Kaida, and it contained a vague physical description...that just so happened to match her own. 

“Well, this can’t possibly get weirder,” she mumbled to herself. Looking at the pai sho tile in her hand, she saw that it was the white lotus, and she decided that it could, in fact, get weirder. 

Well, no sense in wasting an opportunity like this. She stepped back into line, waiting her turn with the passport attendant once again. When she walked up and cleared her throat, the woman glared at her. 

“Didn’t I tell you to get lost?” she asked angrily. 

“I just so happened to find my lost passport.” Yzako said smugly, sliding it across the counter. 

The woman snatched it up, her face immediately falling in awe as she looked at it. “O-Oh my, a royal seal...please, excuse my rudeness, I had no idea--”

“Stamp that quickly, and I won’t have to report you to anyone.” Yzako said, arms folded over her chest. 

“Y-yes, of course! Welcome back to Ba Sing Se, ma’am!” she stamped the document and slid it back to her, a terrified look on her face. 

Yzako took it, marching away. Well, that was easy enough...but how did that random old man have access to something like a royal seal? 

And what was with all the old men in her life having white lotus pai sho tiles up their sleeves all the time? Wasn’t that the one Iroh always told her about when she watched him play against the crew back on the ship? She had never seen the lotus symbol anywhere else, and now this...Iroh couldn’t be connected, could he?

With more questions than answers, she hopped onto the next train, crowding in with the other passengers. At this point in her day, all she wanted to do was sit down...but all the seats were taken by the elderly or by pregnant women, and she just sighed. As she stood, her aching feet reminded her that she didn’t have anywhere to stay, and all of her money was Fire Nation. It looked like she would be slumming it for the night. 

As it turned out, she was pretty good at that. 

Yzako found herself in a market, snatching food for herself and smoothly avoiding attention. An apple here, a papaya there...she took whatever looked especially good, snacking on it as she wandered through the streets. It was far more crowded than anyplace she had ever been before, her shoulders often colliding with people as she weaved between them. She quickly grew used to it, using the crowd as cover as her fingers found their way into coin purses and pockets. She never really thought that she would end up a thief, but it seemed that anything was possible in Ba Sing Se. 

She lived that way for a few days, renting a small bed in a small room in a small halfway house. Yzako learned to respond to her new name, answering only to Kaida and nothing more, and she also learned to sleep lightly, hold her belongings close, and not let anyone give her any shit. Crime was common in the lower ring, but she managed to hold her own in the alleys, often taking down the thieves who went after her and then rifling through their pockets for anything of interest. 

It was far different from any life she had led so far, but it wasn’t bad. With no sign of the avatar, Yzako was left to mind her own business, and mind it she did. She had very little desire to go tracking Aang down, and a large part of her was enjoying this strange vacation. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest as she focused on surviving in the streets of Ba Sing Se, some of her anger ebbing away with the events of her new daily life.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” her wrist was suddenly caught as she reached for a banana to steal. 

She turned with a snarl to see a tall brown-haired boy glaring down at her. He had a little sprig of wheat in his mouth, his eyes narrowed. 

“Stealing from good people? Really?” he asked. 

At this point, the shopkeeper had been alerted to the situation and was watching angrily. Yzako gave a little smile, tossing a few coins in the woman’s direction before slipping out of the boy’s grip. 

“Not at all,” she smirked, walking away. 

He caught up with her quickly, still glaring. “I’ve seen you picking pockets around here. That’s low.”

“What do you care?”

“We’re all refugees here. We need to be banding together, not stealing from each other.”

Yzako sighed and stopped near an alley entrance. “Who are you, exactly?”

He stood with his arms crossed. “Name’s Jet. Who are you?”

“Kaida.” she peeled the banana, hardly paying him any attention. “Wanna leave me alone now?”

“No.” he stepped closer. “I hate to admit it, but you’re good. Ever thought about actually helping people, instead of stealing from them when they can barely pay their rent?”

“Well, Jet,” she put a hand on his chest, giving him a little shove back. “Helping isn’t really my thing these days. Why don’t you go rob a banker up in the middle ring or something? Stop wasting your time down here in the slums.”

Jet rolled his eyes. “I’m down here to keep the peace.”

“Aren’t there guards for that? Stop being a vigilante.” she took a bite of the banana and cocked her hip as she looked up at him. 

“I’m trying to keep these streets safe,” he growled, leaning in towards her and lowering his voice. “There are firebenders here, and they’re threatening the lives of these good people.”

“What, are they stealing bananas too?”

“What? No! They’re--”

“Jet, what are you doing?” he was interrupted by a short girl with puffy brown hair. “Come on, Longshot found us some lunch.”

With one last glare, Jet turned away from Yzako, leaving her alone to wonder what the fuck was going on. With a shake of her head, she continued on with her day, taking her own advice and heading up towards the middle ring to get herself some money. Her passport guaranteed her access to almost any district in the city, and the guards barely even glanced at her as she came and went. 

By the time the sun was setting, she was returning to her rented room, her pockets a bit heavier. Night fell and she walked back to her own little corner of Ba Sing Se, her belly full from a nice dumpling meal, her eyes tired from a busy day. As she wandered past apartments and ducked under clotheslines, movement above her caught her eye, and she paused. Up on the second floor, she could see Jet crouching on a railing, staring across the courtyard through someone else’s window.

Alright. He was crazy. 

He was crazy, or a creep, or both...but Yzako was curious. She snuck up the wooden stairs and climbed up onto the rooftop, looking down at him as she crouched on its edge. He was holding a few spark rocks in his hand, looking satisfied with himself as he watched his target. 

“You’ll have to firebend, old man,” he whispered to himself. 

Oh, spirits. He was just trying to spy on his so-called firebenders, wasn’t he?

“Where are you going?” he mumbled. 

Yzako couldn’t see past the clotheslines strung across the roofs and balconies, but she assumed Jet was watching someone walk out of their apartment. Spark rocks, or a lack thereof, wouldn’t prove anything about whether someone was a firebender or not, would they? Well...leaving someone without the means to make a fire would put them in a position to use their bending. She needed to remember that for herself. 

After a few moments, Jet sat back, angry that he hadn’t seen whatever he wanted to. Yzako laughed quietly and his head shot up to look at her, a big frown on his face. “What do you want?”

“Thought I told you to go lurk around the middle ring.” she said, lounging on the rooftop. “Or is this not about stealing?”

“No, it’s not,” he snapped, standing up. “Those people are firebenders. I just need to prove it.”

“Oh yeah? How do you know?”

“I saw one of them heat his tea.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Something against hot tea?”

“With his own hands!”

“Jet, somebody preferring to drink tea the way it was intended doesn’t make them a firebender.”

“I’ll prove it,” he hissed. “Just you wait.”

With that, he disappeared, leaving Yzako alone. She had to admit, she was a little interested in whoever he was stalking. She slipped down to the balcony, parting the clothing that had been hung out to dry. Peeking through, she saw a small apartment with two open windows, one facing the kitchen while the other into a sleeping area. She felt a little weird, staring into someone’s home like that...until she realized who it was she was watching.

She reeled back in surprise, scooting up against the wall. There was no denying that she had just seen Zuko lounging in bed, and Iroh brewing tea in the kitchen. Her heart was pounding, her cheeks queasy as her stomach threatened to throw up that nice dinner she had gotten herself earlier. Was she nervous? Was she angry? She couldn’t tell. Should she jump through their window and attack them? Should she leave them alone? She couldn’t decide. 

The longer she stayed there, the worse she felt. When she finally tore herself away and ran back to her rented bed, she was shaking, cold sweat prickling her brow. Yzako couldn’t sleep at all that night, staring at the ceiling while the other tenants all snored around her. She hadn’t expected to see them in Ba Sing Se at all, much less so soon after she entered the city. The thought of them was making her mouth dry and painful, her heart still hammering away even as she huddled under her blankets. 

She hated this. 

Kul purred in her ears, finally managing to calm her down. By the time dawn broke, she had merely dozed on and off for about an hour, but she didn’t feel tired. She was alert and on edge, briefly considering packing her things and leaving the city altogether. That was too dramatic, though...and part of her didn’t want to leave. 

Part of her wanted to find them again. 

She spent the day wandering around the lower ring, watching scammers run dice games in the alleys and chatting with a few of her favorite working girls as they stood on corners. All in all, things were normal for her as she made her rounds, nabbing a snack here and there and tossing money to beggars. When she came back around to the girls she liked to talk to, she found one moping after a slow day, and handed her a small pouch of money. 

“No, I can’t take this,” she shook her head, trying to give it back. “I work for my pay.”

“Consider it a gift, Min.” Yzako insisted, shoving it into her hands. 

Min gave up, finally taking it with a smile. “Do I want to know where you came across this much money?”

“Just some financial advisors in the middle ring.” Yzako shrugged. “Nothing exciting, sorry.”

Min laughed, hiding the bag in her sleeve. “Well...thank you. Today has been slow, and boring. This whole week has, honestly. Nobody down here has any money to spend on food, much less stress relief.”

“Sounds right to me.”

“Hey, let me pay you back somehow,” Min offered her hand. 

“Oh, no, I’m not really into--”

“No, no,” she laughed again. “Nothing like that. Unless you want to, of course…”

“Maybe one day,” Yzako grinned. “No promises, though.”

“Well, in the meantime, let me take you out for tea. You just bought me out for the day, after all. The least I can do is get you something nice. There’s this place not too far that I’ve been wanting to try. A customer yesterday just told me their new cook makes the most divine jasmine tea…”

Yzako smiled, taking Min’s hand and letting her lead her through the streets. It was nice to have some sort of friend, especially one who didn’t know she was a highly trained firebending assassin and enemy of the Earth Kingdom. With Min, she could just chat, and the woman never judged or questioned her past. She occasionally tried to nuge and joke about it, but Yzako was almost certain that if she told her the truth, she would hardly bat an eye. 

Min led her to a small shop, the sign reading PAO FAMILY TEA HOUSE. It was modestly crowded, most of the tables inside occupied by patrons. They managed to snag the last open one, near the front door, and were quickly greeted by Pao himself. 

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he bowed to them as they sat, slipping paper menus onto their table. “Someone will be around to take your orders shortly.”

“Thank you,” Min smiled brightly at the man as he walked away. Her gaze shifted to Yzako, who was sitting calmly, perusing the menu. “You have very proper posture for a pickpocket, you know.”

“Hm? Do I?” she asked absentmindedly. 

“You do, Kaida. Almost as if you were trained in etiquette.”

At the sound of her fake name, Yzako looked up. “You think so, huh?”

“Yes, I do. It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that collar, would it?” she gestured to her own neck. 

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Not the collar thing again. I told you, it’s just an old heirloom.”

“One you can’t take off?” Min snorted. “I know a slave collar when I see one, Kaida. I’ve been in this business too long to let that slip past me.”

Yzako sighed, putting her elbows on the table and rubbing at her temples. “If I give you a hint, will you leave me alone about it?”

Min nodded eagerly, and Yzako sighed again. Time to come up with yet another fake, or at least partially-true, backstory. 

“I worked for a nobleman,” she said. “When he was killed by the Fire Nation, the survivors all fled the estate and headed for Ba Sing Se.”

“Ahhh, so you were a bedwarmer after all!” Min clapped, pleased with herself. “I bet it was nice, wasn’t it?”

Yzako couldn’t help but smile. “It was. Silk sheets, the finest foods, candlelit nights...he bought me whatever I wanted, even if he was a little grumpy about it.” she chuckled at the very real memories. 

She was so caught up in them, in fact, that she didn’t even notice the man standing behind her with a shocked expression on his face as he served the next table their tea. 

“A spoiled whore?” Min laughed loudly. “You were a favorite!”

“I was,” Yzako grinned. 

“I bet you miss it, then. I know I would...silk sheets sound a lot nicer than the rooms we rent here. But I’ve never known differently, I suppose.” Min sighed dreamily. “Wish I could find myself a noble patron like that. I’d move out of the lower ring in a heartbeat.”  
“Well, wouldn’t we all?” Yzako shrugged. “How’s this? If I ever manage to steal my way to a nicer place, I’ll send for you first thing.”

“You are the most gracious thief I have ever met,” Min grinned. “It’s a deal.” Her attention suddenly turned away from Yzako, looking past her. “Oh, finally...this place is busy, but I didn’t expect the service to be this slow…”

Yzako didn’t even glance up as a cup of tea was set in front of her. She honestly didn’t care about it much, and was only there so she could spend some time with Min and get off the street for a while. 

“Sorry, but we didn’t order these,” Min said, looking up at the server. 

“Th-they’re on the house,” he said quickly. “Courtesy of the cook.”

Yzako’s eyes flew open in alarm at the sound of his voice. There was no way she could be so unlucky. 

“Oh, well, thank you! Please, give our compliments.” Min kicked her under the table. “Right, Kaida?”

She looked up slowly, a lump forming in her throat. “R-right. My compliments to the chef.”

When her eyes made contact with Zuko’s, she couldn’t move. Her palms were sweaty, her knees were weak. He didn’t seem to be faring much better, gripping his serving tray tightly as he struggled to keep calm. 

“Lee, I need you back here!” a voice called from the kitchen. 

He just nodded sharply, backing up and turning around as fast as he could. He practically ran to join his uncle, and Iroh only smiled at the sight of him. 

“Well? Do they like it?” he asked. 

“I cannot believe you just made me do that!” Zuko hissed. 

“Calm down, nephew,” he chuckled, stirring a fresh pot of tea. “Look at her. If she was going to attack you, she already would have...and besides, this would be the worst place to try.”

Zuko’s eyes wandered over to a table of guards. He had to admit his uncle was right. Yzako would be a fool to do anything now, and an even bigger fool to firebend in the middle of the city. 

“Who is her lovely friend?” Iroh asked. 

“I don’t know.” Zuko groaned, turning his back to the restaurant. 

“Well, what were they talking about?”

“Nothing!” his face burned red as he recalled the conversation he had just overheard. “Just...don’t you dare make me go serve them again, or I swear, I’ll--”

“Nephew, relax. All I see are two pretty ladies enjoying some afternoon tea together. Why don’t you go ask them if they like it? Tell them the chef sent you again.” He winked.

Zuko groaned, slowly inching his way back towards them. He couldn’t believe she was right there in front of him, alive and well. She even seemed to have all of her limbs still attached, and not a drop of blood was dripping from her lips. The girl sitting across from her was dressed like the women he saw hanging around brothels and on the streets, which would explain why they had been talking as if Yzako had been his spoiled little consort. 

“H-how is it?” He asked nervously when he reached them. 

Yzako stayed quiet, but the other girl responded immediately. “It’s great! What are these? Tapioca balls?”

“Y-yes, it’s pearl milk tea,” he said timidly. “It’s a new in house specialty. It isn’t even on the menu yet.”

“Well, tell the chef that it’s fantastic.” She smiled. “I’m Min, by the way, and this is Kaida.”

“Nice to meet you.” Zuko said quickly, bowing. On his way back up, he finally caught Yzako’s serpentine eyes, staring at them for a moment. “I’m Lee.”

Her eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. 

“Can we have some more of these?” Min asked, rescuing the two from their awkward encounter.

“Yes, of course! Right away.” He hurried off again and Min fell into a fit of giggles.

“Spirits, why don’t you just get on your knees and suck his dick under the table?” She laughed.

Yzako glared at her. “What makes you think I want to?”

“Uh, hello? Did you even see yourself just now? You are totally into that guy.” She leaned back in her chair. “I can’t say I blame you, either. He’s pretty cute, even with that big scar. Wonder how he got it.”

“Probably a Fire Nation raid.” Yzako picked up her tea, trying to act natural. 

“He likes you too,” Min waggled her eyebrows at her. 

“Think so?”

“Oh, I know so. You just made him so nervous he looked like he was going to puke.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. 

“Guess I just have that effect on guys.” Yzako snorted a laugh. “That’s why I could never do your job. It’s too hard and I’m not nice enough.”

Min rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You don’t have to be nice to them. You just have to know how to get what you want out of them.” Her eyes traveled back to Lee as he waited on other customers. “Don’t think this guy is as loaded as your old one, though. Sorry.”

Yzako wanted to burst into laughter, but she refrained. “No, probably not. It’s rare to find that kind of money, though, so I can’t really blame him.”

“So this guy was like, rich rich? Who was he? A Beifong?”

“Nope. Good guess, though.”

“Hmmm...a Ling?”

“Nope.”

As she continued guessing, Yzako’s mind wandered. Zuko had faced her and hadn’t attacked or even said anything weird. Iroh had sent her tea despite their last encounter going less than well. Did this mean they were on good terms? She was probably being too hopeful with that. Maybe Iroh was only apologizing for beating her up and making her cough blood all over Zuko. 

Min had a few more cups of tea before she was satisfied, paying their all-too-small bill and leaving a handsome tip behind. Yzako followed her out of the shop, chatting for a moment before Min suddenly smiled slyly and slipped away into the crowd. When Yzako turned to see why she had left, her heart dropped. There he was. 

“Hey.”


	44. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER QUICK UPDATE. I'M ON FIRE LOL. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who leaves comments! I love reading them so so much, and I especially love it when you guys find the dumb little Easter eggs I leave in some of my chapters. If you see something you think is a reference, I can almost guarantee that it is! Sometimes I just can't help myself. Anyways, sorry for leaving you all with a cliffhanger...I always talk about how much I hate them, and then sometimes I have to write them in for the DRAMA of it all. I like to think my quick updates make up for it, though!

Yzako could barely talk past the lump in her throat. 

“Hey.” She managed to squeak out. 

Without another word, she was pulled into a hug, Zuko holding her tighter than he ever had before. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered against her hair. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Me too.” Her voice was muffled, her face pressed against his chest as she started to sob. The emotional dam had finally broken, and now everything was pouring out at once. 

“I’m sorry for leaving you there.”

“I’m sorry for trying to kill you a bunch and bleeding all over and—“

“Shhh,” he mumbled, squeezing her. “Not so loud.”

She sniffled. “I’m sorry I was an asshole.”

“You were just angry and hurt.”

“I was out of my mind. I didn’t...didn’t feel like myself.”

“It’s okay.” He murmured. “I’m the one who was an asshole. A night hasn’t gone by that I haven’t relived that day over and over in my head. I’ve never stopped thinking about you, and I never will. When Azu—” he cleared his throat, catching himself. “When my sister hurt Uncle and then ran off with you, I didn’t know what to do. I finally had you back, and then she just tore you away again.”

Yzako pulled back to look at him. “She said you left me for dead.”

Zuko sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. “She always lies.”

“Of course she does.” Yzako growled, angry with herself for nearly trusting Azula. What was the point of lying about something like that? And if she had fibbed about something so mundane...what else had been a lie?

“So, uh...I get it if you still hate me…” Zuko stepped back, letting go of her and awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “But...if you don’t, could we maybe...start over?”

Yzako stared at him. Was that smart? Since coming to Ba Sing Se, her mind had felt clearer than ever, and when she looked at Zuko, she didn’t want to rip his head off. Was she really prepared to go back against the Fire Lord’s wishes for a second time, though? She had been so determined not to fail him, and now she was starting to crumble and fall for Zuko all over again. Even if she wanted to kill him, Ba Sing Se was absolutely not the place to do it unless she was prepared to fight her way back out of the most heavily guarded city in the world. 

And she really wasn’t.

“Can we...talk about it first?” she asked quietly, hugging herself. 

“Yeah. Yes, of course!” Zuko said, his heart jumping. He had the opportunity to keep her in his life, and he was determined to take it. “Let me just go ask my uncle for the rest of the day off. Come on.”

He grabbed her hand before she had a chance to protest and dragged her along eagerly, pulling her back into the tea house. Yzako was taken back to the kitchen, past a very confused Mr. Pao and up to the portly teamaker. Somehow, she was even more nervous to see him than she was Zuko, and as she stood before him, she swallowed hard. 

“Ah, nephew!” Iroh said, turning to them. “I was wondering where you ran off to in such a hurry.”

“Uncle, can I take the rest of the day off?” Zuko asked quickly. “I want to spend it, uh...catching up, with...uh…”

“With Kaida,” Yzako said, elbowing him. He had already heard her name once, and he couldn’t even remember it? How was he managing to hide in Ba Sing Se if he was acting like that? He clearly needed her help. “Which is me, of course.. Kaida.”

“Yes, of course! Kaida, it has been far too long.” Iroh turned back to the tea he was brewing before he could see the guilty look on her face. “Speak with Mr. Pao first. I am sure our employer will be understanding.”

“Understanding of what, exactly?” the shop owner asked, appearing behind them. 

“Mr. Pao,” Zuko bowed quickly. “May I leave a few hours early?”

Pao glared. “You have not accrued any vacation days, Lee.”

“It’s my fault, Mr. Pao,” Yzako spoke up, bowing to him. “My name is Kaida. I was hoping I could steal Lee away today, since I haven’t seen him in so long…”

Pao’s expression softened at the sight of her. “Ah, you were just enjoying some of our new pearl milk tea with a companion, weren’t you? How did you like it?”

“It was delicious. My friend and I both enjoyed it.”

“And they tipped very handsomely!” Iroh said over his shoulder. 

“Well...alright. Lee, you can take the rest of the day off, but only because Mushi’s tea has brought in so much more business. Consider it a reward for your hard work these past days.” Pao waved him off, and before she knew it, Zuko was pulling Yzako out of the shop. 

“Have fun!” Iroh called after them. “Be safe!”

His nephew’s face burned red and Yzako just laughed, running after him through the streets. Their hands were clasped together, fingers intertwined as they weaved through the crowds, only stopping when they reached a small fountain. Zuko let go of her hand, bending over to catch his breath.

“So…” he said, straightening up again. 

Yzako hopped up onto the fountain’s ledge, walking along it. “So...I can’t really figure out why I’m not angry with you anymore.”

“You’re not?” he walked on the ground next to her, taking her hand to help her balance on the stone wall. 

“No, not really. A little, I guess, but...it kind of went away when I got to Ba Sing Se.” 

“Why are you here?” Zuko asked. Then, he lowered his voice. “Is my sister here, too?”

“No.” Yzako shook her head. She hesitated for a moment. Should she tell him that Azula had sent her there intentionally? If she wasn’t planning on carrying out the princess’s stupid orders, then...what was the point in sharing anything? She was done with Azula, and done with hunting the avatar. Zuko seemed happy with his life, or as happy as he could be, at least, and who was she to mess that up now? Besides, she wasn’t lying. Not really. 

“Honestly, I wanted to come here on my own. I’m sick of her ordering me around.” she finally said. 

“How did you get in? Don’t tell me you did something stupid…”

“What? No! Some old guy at the border gave me a passport.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Some old guy?”

“Yeah. Look.” she fished it out of her shirt, presenting him with the green and gold tag. “This royal seal gets me into any part of the city.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow. We had to get ours from an old guy in the desert. He was in the same weird club as my uncle.” 

“What weird club?”

“Something about pai sho.” Zuko shrugged. “They wouldn’t let me into their secret back room, but they kept saying weird shit about lotuses.”

Yzako frowned. “White lotuses?”

“Yeah, why?”

She narrowed her eyes. Maybe her suspicions had been correct, after all. “That just keeps coming up lately, it seems.”

“Yeah, well...a lot of weird stuff keeps coming up.” he looked at her. “How are you alive? Last time I saw you, you were barely hanging on.”

“I went to the spirit world and talked to the dragon that taught Avatar Wan firebending. Normal stuff.”

“...Right. Totally normal.”

“Next thing I know, I wake up to see your sister, and she tells me she found me alone in the woods and that you had left me there to die. I guess that wasn’t true, though.”

“No.” he sighed. “I was trying to find help, but nobody would even look at me. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”

Yzako stopped walking, turning to face him. “Most of it.”

He avoided her eyes, looking to the side. “So, you...remember what I said?”

“Yeah, I do…” she smiled, reaching for him.

He leaned up into her touch as her hands found his cheeks. When their lips met, everything finally felt better; Yzako’s heart was soaring, Kul rumbling happily inside her chest. Weeks of pain and heartbreak were finally healing, for both of them. 

Zuko wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the fountain, spinning her around before setting her back down on the ground again. 

“So, you’re over trying to kill me?” he whispered against her lips. 

She smiled. “For the moment.”

“So we can...start over? For real?”

“No,” she pulled back and his face fell for a moment. “...I don’t want to start over. I want to keep going. I can’t forget what happened, and I kind of don’t want to.”

Relief flooded over Zuko and he took her hand, walking with her again. “I can’t give you that perfect life we used to talk about anymore, but...Uncle and I have jobs now, and our own apartment. You can come stay with us.”

“Are you sure your uncle would want that? We didn’t exactly part on good terms…”

“Uncle believes in second chances.” Zuko said, remembering what Iroh had said on the ferry ride. “He’s just happy to see you safe and in one piece here. Plus, he sent you and your, uh...friend...free tea.”

“Why’d you say it all weird like that?” Yzako laughed at his awkwardness. “Min actually is my friend, you know.”

“I never said she wasn’t!” he said. “Just, are you working with her? Or…did you hire her? Or….”

Her laughter only got louder, and after he got past his embarrassment, Zuko couldn’t help but chuckle along with her. He had longed to hear her laugh, the raucous, undeniably happy sound that he associated only with her. 

“Did you overhear us talking at the shop earlier?” she asked, wiping away tears. 

“Yeah, I might’ve been listening…”

She leaned in, a sly smile on her lips. “Then you heard the way I talked about those silk sheets and that happy nobleman…”

Zuko grinned, turning his head to catch her in a kiss. Yeah, this was definitely his Yzako. “I have to say, I prefer you like this over when you’re trying to tear my limbs off.”

“Me too,” she slipped her arm through his as they walked back toward the crowded streets. “So, what about you? How’d you end up here? You’re safe, you know. Your sister has no idea.”

“That’s a relief,” Zuko mumbled. “Uncle said we would be safest here. We don’t exactly have anywhere else to go. We’re refugees, after all….”

“Well, aren’t we all. Did you take the ferry? I, uh, couldn’t find it….”

“Yeah,” he looked at her strangely. “What do you mean you couldn’t find it? I saw you.”

“You what?” she looked up at him as if he were speaking in tongues. “No, you most certainly didn’t.”

“Well, I saw Kul….”

She stopped, folding her arms over her chest and glaring up at the sky. “Oh, you did, did you?”

Kul’s spirit gave a growl, the sound bouncing around her skull. Zuko heard the tiniest hint of it, and as Yzako chastised the dragon for neglecting to tell her anything, he smiled. 

“Sounds like he’s giving you some sass.” he took Yzako’s arm again and they continued walking around the fountain. 

“You have no idea.” she rolled her eyes. “We helped some refugees have a baby on our way here, and he was absolutely insufferable.”

“You...helped...deliver a baby?” he looked at her in surprise. “You, of all people, did something as matronly as helping with childbirth?”

“Yeah, what about it?” she huffed. “I was very helpful. Perfectly capable, in fact. It’s totally gross, though. Zero out of ten on the cleanliness scale.”

“I imagine so,” the prince chuckled. “And Kul helped too?”

“Yeah, he stuck his big stupid head in the doorway and then did nothing but play with the baby after I did all the hard work. She nearly crushed my hand, you know! I thought I was gonna lose my fingers before she finally lost all her strength and had to focus on pushing the little creature out! And then, you know what Kul has the nerve to do? He starts giving me shit and telling me he wants one!”

It was Zuko’s turn to laugh loudly. The story was absolutely absurd, but it was proof that she had gotten past all of the violence and aggression she had been caught up in the last time he saw her. If Yzako could think clearly enough to help deliver a baby, then she was probably in the headspace to be around people without trying to kill them again.

“He’s gotten talkative.” Zuko commented, still smiling. 

“Too talkative!”

“I guess we’ll have to watch and make sure he doesn’t steal any newborns to raise for himself.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Yzako grumbled. “He was pretty cute with her, though, I have to admit. Even though I don’t want to. And I suppose the safest place in the world would be with a...well, with him. You know. If you’re a tiny helpless useless baby. And now he’s just going to purr and trill at every single infant he sees because he misses them.”

“Well, maybe...uh...someday, we might...you know….” Zuko’s face was beet red, a hot blush spreading over his cheeks for what felt like the thousandth time that day. “It’s not like we would be expected to produce an heir anymore or anything, but…”

He expected her to laugh at him and poke fun at his embarrassed expression, but Yzako only smiled warmly. She looked tired, as if she was nothing but exhausted by the world, but her annoyance with Kul had melted away. “Yeah, maybe someday. If Ba Sing Se stays as safe as everyone seems to think, maybe life here wouldn’t be so bad.”

Zuko’s blush faded and he leaned down, pressing a kiss against the top of her head just like he always used to. As much as he had been longing to be with her like this, he didn’t expect it to feel so good when they were finally reunited. 

“I missed you.” he said quietly. 

She was quiet for a moment, and he again feared that he had said something wrong. He was so incredibly anxious, worried that she was going to turn around and bite him like a viper if he slipped up. When she stretched up on her toes to kiss his cheek, however, he sighed happily. 

“I missed you, too.” she whispered in his ear.

They spent the rest of the day walking arm in arm, chatting and catching up in the vaguest terms possible to avoid arousing any suspicion. They avoided the elephant in the room, neither one of them willing to bring up the Fire Lord or any of the torture that took place in the palace. They barely spoke about the past, in fact, instead making small talk as Yzako led Zuko around the market district she so often haunted. 

“Look!” she nodded forward towards a group of women in colorful robes. “There’s Min. Let’s go say hi.”

Zuko groaned. He was absolutely sure he was going to fuck things up. “Do we have to?”

“Well, she already spotted us, so yes.” Yzako dragged him with her, ignoring the way he tried to dig his heels into the stone street. She certainly hadn’t lost any of her strength in the months they had been apart. 

“Look who it is,” Min greeted them loudly as they approached. “Did you take my advice yet?”

“Not yet. Maybe later.” Yzako winked at her, leaning on Zuko’s side. 

“Do I even want to know?” he asked, shrinking under the stares of the girls. They were all watching him hungrily, giggling behind their hands at his discomfort. 

“Oh, you’ll like it,” Min grinned. “Thanks for the tea earlier, by the way. I’ve been raving about it all day.”

“Oh, this is the tea guy?” one of the others asked. “He really is cute!”

“What’s your name, handsome?” another spoke up, her laughter quieting. 

“Uh...Lee…b-but Mr. Pao owns the shop, and my uncle makes the tea...I’m just the server.” he stammered. He was quickly remembering just how afraid he was of groups of girls like this. They were like pack animals, all waiting for him to slip up so they could go in for the kill...which, in this case, might not actually have been that bad.

“Well, I’m Chun, and this is Fen,” she said, nodding to the first girl. 

“And I’m Zhang,” the third said, batting her lashes at him behind a green silk fan. 

“It’s...uh...nice to meet you,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Yzako snorted. When did he get so awkward? Where was that annoying, royal attitude he usually had? The girls were going to tear him apart at his rate. 

“Be nice to Lee,” she said with a grin. “He just invited me to stay with him.”

“Moving on up in the world already, Kaida?” Min asked, a little glimmer in her eye. 

“Not out of the lower ring, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Yzako gave her a little glare, wordlessly telling her to shut up before she started blabbering about the fake past she had heard about in the tea shop. 

“Well, Mr. Lee, if you ever want anything that our dear old Kaida here can’t provide…” Fen smiled mischievously. 

“Our pockets are always open,” Chun winked. 

“And our robes are, too.”

Zuko’s face was back to a nice lobster red, and they all laughed again. It reminded him of all the times Azula and her friends made fun of him back home, except they had been Fire Nation nobility, and these were Earth Kingdom girls working a street corner. When Yzako joined in, though, his anger melted away, and his face settled into a bemused smile as they started chatting. He was surprised at the way she spoke with them so effortlessly, asking them about their days and making sure they had all been paid appropriately. He realized that he had never seen her with friends, but then again, she had only ever spent her days training with him and his uncle on the ship. The crew didn’t provide much in the way of camaraderie for her, but here, on the dirty streets of Ba Sing Se’s lower ring, she seemed to have found her own little pack of people. 

“She’s a good girl, you know,” Min said, standing next to Zuko as Yzako spoke with Fen and Chun about an unruly client they had encountered that afternoon. 

“I know.” he said, watching her talk animatedly. “I actually, uh...knew her, before coming here. Sort of.”

“Is that right?” Min raised an eyebrow. “Same estate?”

“What? Oh, yeah.” he cleared his throat. “I was a...footman there.”

“Aw, how cute!” Min clasped her hands together. “You fell for the lord’s favorite consort, didn’t you?”

“...Something like that. I hadn’t seen her for a while, but now we’re here. Together. I guess.”

“Well, any friend of Kaida’s is a friend of ours,” Zhang said, fanning herself. 

“It’s true.” Min nodded. “She’s good people. She’s always out here looking out for us, and she’s only been around a few days. You’d better treat her right. Got it, Lee?”

He put his hands up in surrender as she jabbed a finger into his chest. “I got it, I got it!”

“Good.” she stepped back, satisfied. “But I’ll be watching you.”

“Watch him all you want,” Yzako suddenly growled, grabbing Zuko. “We’ve got something to go take care of.”

“Bye, Kaida!” Fen called after them. 

“Thank you!” Chun yelled. 

“Whoa, hey!” Zuko protested, twisting out of her grip as she marched towards an alley. “What’s going on?”

“Fen and Chun had some issues with a man today,” she growled. 

“So?”

She turned to him with a fiery glare. “So? So I’m not about to let him get away with it! These guys don’t pay as much as they should, and the sleezy ones get way too pushy. Who knows what he’ll do next if he thinks he can just get away with shit like this. Harassing my girls...what a fucking idiot.”

Well, she was certainly talking like the protector of a pack. Was that normal for dragons? Could this be some primal instinct that she had gained thanks to Kul? Maybe Zuko would find the chance to ask her about it one day, but for now, he could only tag along as she marched towards her prey.

“Ba Sing Se has guards. Isn’t this more their thing?” he asked, following as she turned down another alley. 

“You think they care about this kind of stuff?” she shook her head. “No way. We’ll find this asshole, rough him up, take his money, and be back home before dinner.”

Well, Zuko couldn’t deny that it sounded a little fun. He trotted after her as she began her hunt, enjoying the way she seemed to be in such high spirits. He knew better than anyone just how relentless she could be, but this was a far better outlet for her anger and energy than trying to kill him was. It was good to see her acting with so much passion, and it reminded him of training with her all those months ago. 

They were both so focused on the task at hand that neither firebender noticed the brown haired man following them. 

Jet had spotted them talking with the working girls and was immediately suspicious. He thought she didn’t even know Lee and his uncle, but now that he saw them stalking through the alleys together, he was beginning to realize that he had been wrong. Was she a firebender, too? Would that explain her strange eyes, and the way she refused to help him?

He watched Kaida approach a group of men playing a card game. What was she doing? As she surged forward and pulled the man to his feet, Jet’s hand reached for one of the hook swords at his side, his body tensing as he waited to see fire. This could be the perfect chance to prove what she and Lee really were, and his shot at taking them down. 

Kaida shoved the man up against the wall, her expression angry as she held him there. Lee was standing behind her, his arms crossed over his chest as if he was her back up. What were they doing? Roughing up some random thug in an alley just for fun? Of course they were; they were firebenders, after all. They were probably having the time of their lives spreading fear and beating up the refugees of the lower ring. 

When Kaida did nothing but talk to her victim, Jet sighed angrily. All he wanted was to bust these firebenders so that everyone would believe him. Smellerbee and Longshot kept trying to convince him that he was overreacting, but he knew the truth; Lee and Mushi, and now Kaida, were dangerous, monsters who couldn’t be trusted around the good people of Ba Sing Se. 

Firebenders had taken everything from him when he was a child. Jet knew better than anyone that the people of the Fire Nation were only capable of death and destruction, and to find them trying to infiltrate Ba Sing Se now was almost making him nauseous. They were threatening the lives of everyone around them, and he didn’t believe that they were really refugees for a second. How could they be, when they were from the very nation that was trying to burn the entire world? These people were dangerous, and he was determined to expose them to the rest of Ba Sing Se so that the world could see just how much danger they were really in. 

“If I ever catch you talking to any of the working girls in this city, I will gut you like a fish. Do you understand?” Yzako snarled at the man before her. When he did nothing past staring at her in fear, she pulled him forward and slammed him back up against the wall again. “I said, do you understand?”

He nodded quickly, falling to his knees as she let him go. His entire body was shaking, and for good reason; he hadn’t exactly expected this terrifying girl to come out of nowhere and start threatening his life over some street walkers. He didn’t know who this crazy lady was, but he wasn't about to risk anything by talking back to her. 

“Now pay up.” she ordered, holding an expectant hand out. 

The man just nodded again, pulling a small coin purse out of his pocket before scrambling away from her. Yzako took it, rolling her eyes as she weighed it in her hand. It wasn’t much, but it was something, and she could always slip into the middle ring tomorrow to get some more money to give Chun and Fen. 

As she turned towards to leave, movement by the alley entrance caught her eye, and she froze. She could have sworn for a second that she saw a head of messy brown hair disappear around the corner, but when she whipped around to look, there was no one there. Her eyes narrowed as she slipped her arm through Zuko’s and the two walked away together, but despite the creeping sensation that she was being watched, Yzako saw no signs of the nosy boy she had encountered the day before. Maybe she was just being paranoid after finding out that Jet was spying on Zuko and Iroh, but she had good reason to suspect that he would be keeping an eye on her now. 

Jet watched the two firebenders from the safety of the crowded street, his eyes dark. He would follow them all day and all night if he had to, and no one--not even Smellerbee and Longshot--was going to stop him. Lee and Kaida would slip up eventually, and when they did, he would be there, ready to take them on and show them exactly why the Fire Nation should stay far away from the refugees of the lower ring.


	45. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another update! I'm having so much fun with these babies in Ba Sing Se.

Yzako was more than nervous to enter Zuko and Iroh’s apartment. Despite seeing Iroh earlier that day at the tea house, there was a lump in her throat and an unpleasant pit in her stomach that just got worse and worse the closer they got. Night was falling and she was carrying her little pack, all of her belongings slung over her shoulder as Zuko led her to her new home. She didn’t dare tell him that she already knew where he and his uncle were living thanks to Jet, instead quietly walking with her arm through his as they made their way through the narrow streets. 

“Relax,” he said when they reached the door. 

“He has every right to hate me,” she mumbled, looking at the ground. 

“He doesn’t. He was the one who forced me to talk to you at the shop today.”

Her head shot up. “Excuse me?”

Zuko realized his mistake, backing up at the sight of her glare. “No, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just--I was nervous, and I just meant that he forced me to take you tea!”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Oh, he forced you, did he? You weren’t even brave enough to come up and face me yourself?”

“That’s not what I--”

“Ah, nephew!” the door suddenly opened, revealing Iroh. 

He stood there with a huge smile on his face, wearing his comfortable green robes and an apron. When his eyes shifted to Yzako, she swallowed hard, trying to resist the urge to turn tail and run back to her old rented room. Zuko seemed to sense her desire to flee and he grabbed her arm, pulling her forward a step and then placing his hand on her back, holding her in place before she could actually do anything. 

“Kaida, please, come in.” Iroh bowed to her and moved aside, holding the door open for them. 

Zuko shoved her into the small apartment. “Uncle, I told her that she could--”

“Stay with us?” he interrupted, shutting the door behind him as he walked inside after them. “Of course!”

“A-are you sure?” Yzako asked nervously, turning to look at him. She wanted to blurt out a thousand apologies, but she didn’t even know where to start. How could she begin? There was far too much, and it felt like no matter what she said, she would never be able to atone for her mistakes. 

“I would not have it any other way,” Iroh said, smiling kindly. 

Yzako wanted to cry, but before she had the chance to fall to her knees and tell him all of the bad things she had done over the past few weeks, he was pulling her into a hug. He was warm and his arms were safe, and when he let her go to hold her at arm's length, he just smiled and gave her a nod. How was Iroh so incredibly forgiving? Yzako couldn’t shake the memory of him trying to stop her from going after Zuko, or the look in his eyes when she attacked him. How was this old man able to simply shrug it off and then invite her into his home?

“I hope you’re both hungry!” Iroh said, walking to the tiny kitchen. “I stopped at the market on my way home and bought some fresh vegetables for soup. It is an old recipe, one that I learned on my last visit to the city. I think you’ll like it!”  
Yzako held in a laugh. Last visit? Was that what he was calling his siege? Iroh seemed to be settling into Ba Sing Se nicely, considering it was the sight of his greatest military effort as well as his worst defeat. He looked perfectly happy, humming to himself as he chopped vegetables and added them to the broth he already had simmering over a small flame. 

At the sight of the little fire, Yzako’s eyes narrowed, and she turned to look out the window. Was Jet up on that balcony across the courtyard, hiding behind one of the many clotheslines strung between buildings? She peered out into the darkness, straining her eyes as she tried to catch any sign of movement. He was a little too close to the truth for her comfort, and while she didn’t want to kill him, she would if she had to. 

If that’s what it took to protect her people, she was prepared to end the stubborn boy’s life.

“It’s not much of a view,” Zuko said, coming to stand next to her. 

She tried to relax her shoulders as she turned to him. “Better than what the halfway house had. Do you, uh...how many beds do you own, exactly?”

“Well, uh…” Zuko’s face was red, a blush creeping across his cheeks as he looked away from her bemused eyes. “We only have two….”

“You will share, of course!” Iroh said over his shoulder. “I am sure you’ve got plenty to catch up on with each other, and besides, I can’t share a bed...I need my beauty rest!”

“Uncle!” Zuko said sharply. 

Yzako just laughed, putting a hand on the prince’s chest as she walked past him to look at the rest of the small apartment. She had gotten a pretty good look at it through their window the night before, but she didn’t want them to know that she had been watching. 

“Which one is yours?”

“The one that doesn’t smell like old man,” Zuko grumbled. “Here, let me take your bag.”

“Such a gentleman,” Yzako teased, handing him her pack. 

He rolled his eyes, setting it down on the small bed near the other window. Yzako again found herself glaring out at the balcony across the way, waiting for some sign of Jet. When a few seconds passed with nothing interesting, she sighed and turned back to Zuko. He had sat down on the bed, watching her curiously. 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” she asked, taking both of his hands as she stood in front of him. 

“Working. Like every day. Why? Do you have more men to beat up?” 

She shrugged. “You never know. Actually, I was going to go up to the middle ring.”

“Do I want to know why?” he let go of her hands, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. 

“I’m low on cash and I need to get some more. Besides, my passport gets me wherever I wanna go, remember?” she grinned. 

“...Don’t tell me you’re a thief now.”

“I’m not a thief, I am a...well, let’s just say I liberate heavy coin purses from the confines of pockets.”

From the kitchen, Iroh frowned. Why were both young adults in his care so bad at living humbly? First Zuko’s thieving, and now Yzako’s...he was going to have to steer her in the right direction, too. If they were all going to live happily in Ba Sing Se, she didn’t need to work, but she certainly needed to stay away from dishonest activities like stealing. She would need a nudge back on the correct path, but, it was far better than not having her around at all. He didn’t mind the concept of helping Yzako. 

“Dinner is ready!” he announced several minutes later, carrying the pot over to the small table. 

When Yzako followed Zuko to it, she noticed that there was already a place set for her. 

“Did you know I was coming?” she asked, sitting down on the floor in front of her bowl. 

“No, but I had a hopeful feeling,” Iroh smiled as he sat cross legged. “I was overjoyed to see your familiar face in the tea house today. Just ask my nephew.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “He really was.”

“And you weren’t?” she teased. 

“I never said that!”

Yzako just snorted at his reaction and turned her attention to the food on the table. Iroh’s soup smelled divine, and as she ate it, she couldn’t remember why she was even scared of coming to the apartment in the first place. 

“How have you been since we last spoke?” Iroh asked, looking at her. 

Oh. Now she remembered why she was scared. “I…”

Zuko watched her closely. 

“...I’ve been better.”

Iroh closed his eyes, nodding solemnly. “I believe we have all experienced pain and uncertainty these past several weeks. But, the important thing is that we are all together now, enjoying good company and the safety of Ba Sing Se.”

Yzako relaxed, her shoulders sagging at his words. “You’re right...Mushi.”

Zuko watched the exchange curiously. They were both dancing around the topic, neither one willing to say anything outright. Maybe it was better that they leave it at that, and move on. Maybe letting go of the past was the only way they would be able to move forward in the Earth Kingdom now that they were all calling it home. It certainly seemed safe; in the time he had been there, Zuko hadn’t heard anyone mention the Fire Nation or the 100 Year War. It was as if Ba Sing Se was so safe nobody even cared about it...and maybe that was a good thing. 

After dinner, even though all he wanted to do was curl up in bed with Yzako, Zuko was made to endure an evening tea. They spoke about mundane things, Iroh informing Zuko that Mr. Pao expected him at the shop bright and early in the morning and that Yzako would have to spend the day “staying out of trouble.” She had looked a bit put out at that, but Zuko knew better than anyone that she wasn’t about to listen, and he fully counted on hearing stories from the middle ring after the tea house closed and they could be together again. 

When they all finally went to bed, Zuko was more than eager to finally wrap his arms around Yzako, insisting that she get changed as quickly as possible. When she informed him that she didn’t have a separate set of sleeping clothes, his heart jumped eagerly. Was he really about to be so lucky that he would get to sleep next to a fully naked Yzako on their first night back together in months? He could hardly believe it. 

“Oh, you can wear one of my tunics!” Iroh said, squashing his nephew’s hopes. “We can’t have you wearing your same clothes all night, and it would be improper for a young lady to be made to sleep in the nude.”

Zuko let out a loud, frustrated sigh that had Yzako rolling with laughter. 

“I think you’ll live,” she said as Iroh handed her a tunic. 

The old man quickly went to bed, blowing out the candles on his side of the room and saying goodnight only after reminding his nephew to give Yzako privacy to change. Zuko rolled his eyes, grumbling as he turned to face the window while she stripped down. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her naked dozens of times before...and besides, his uncle had begun snoring within seconds. It’s not like he would know if Zuko behaved himself. 

With a sigh, the prince blew out the remaining candles. He hated the way their windows were so...open. Poor people really just lived like this all the time, didn’t they? Despite the harrowing journey Zuko had taken to get to this point, he still couldn’t believe some of the things he was experiencing. He knew he would likely never have it again, but he longed for the comforts of palace life, where he could have his own room and no one was going to walk past outside and suddenly look into his home.

When Yzako’s hands slipped around his waist, he tensed in surprise. 

“I might have a massive tunic on,” she whispered in his ear, “but that doesn’t mean there’s anything under it.”

He turned toward her quickly, grinning. “You sure about that?”

“You wanna check for yourself?” she nipped at his ear playfully, encouraged by the privacy that the darkness offered. 

Zuko took his own tunic off before pulling her down onto the bed with him, laying on his bad side so that he could hear her better. Yzako faced him, pulling the covers over them and throwing her leg over his waist.

“Hey,” she breathed, facing him in the darkness. 

“Hey,” he answered, breath tickling her nose. “Is...is this okay?”

Yzako thought about it for a moment. Was it okay? After so much pain and anger, was she really going to cozy up with the man she had been convinced that she needed to kill?

When she looked into his eyes, she realized that the answer was yes. 

“This is the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.” she admitted, pressing her forehead against his. “It’s...a weird feeling.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

She leaned back slightly to look at his face. This Zuko was so different from the one she had met all those months ago at Zhao’s shipyard. He had no one to give orders to, and no one in Ba Sing Se had any idea that he was banished royalty. He was just a young man, one who had gone through hell to find refuge in the walled city. 

“I really hated you.” She said, unable to find a nicer way to word it. “I thought that killing you would make me feel better. If your uncle hadn’t stopped me, I would have done it.”

“I know.” 

“I was convinced that if I got rid of you, all of my problems would be fixed and I would be rewarded with my freedom.” She looked away from his eyes, unable to face him. “I was consumed by hatred, but now I’m just...tired.”

“You were afraid.” Zuko said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you.”

“But I knew what would happen.” She looked back at him. “I disobeyed, and I was punished. I was so upset, I couldn’t tell the difference between right and wrong.”

“Hey.” Zuko wrapped his arm around her. “When it came down to it, you couldn’t kill me. You wouldn’t have done it.”

“But that’s the thing. I would have.”

He stared at her yellow cat eyes, searching for something to tell him that she didn’t mean it. As nice as the thought of her showing him mercy was, though, there was nothing to suggest that she wasn’t completely serious. 

Zuko sighed. “I know. But you didn’t.”

“Because I couldn’t.”

“Well...you wouldn’t now, would you?”

Yzako looked at him. “No. I think Bailong talked some sense into me while I was in the spirit world.”

“...Bailong?” he raised an eyebrow. “The dragon?”

“Yeah. I guess he kind of gave me the kick in the ass I needed to start seeing clearly.” 

Zuko pulled her forward, tucking her head under his chin. “Uncle says we’re here to start new lives. You can do that, too.”

“Is that what you really want?” she peeked up at him. “Are you done trying to go back home?”

“I think so.” he said quietly. “I don’t think there’s any way for me to regain my honor. My father has made that much clear. Uncle has been ready to forget about the past and move on for years...maybe it’s time that I let go, too.”

Yzako frowned. He sounded sad, but she knew that he was right. “You deserve happiness. Ba Sing Se is a big city with room for everyone.”

“But I hate the lower ring,” he growled. “It’s dirty and crowded and I hate working for a living.”

“You serve tea.” Yzako snorted. 

“I’ve never had to have a job before! Back home I got whatever I wanted the moment I wanted it. I had all the gold in the world, my favorite foods...the only thing I didn’t have back then was you.”

Yzako’s eyes widened at his words. After everything, he really still cared about her that much? 

“I never got to say it at the north pole,” Zuko said, staring over her head as he held her against him, “I was too much of a coward. I wasn’t strong enough.” His hand slipped down her side, resting on her hip. “I love you.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she pulled back slightly to look at him in shock. “What did you just say?”

Part of him wanted to look away in embarrassment, but he couldn’t take his eyes off hers. He had been wishing that he could tell her that for so long, and he suspected that he had loved her from the moment he saw her. 

“I love you.”

Yzako’s heart was pounding. The words she had been wishing she could hear from him...they had sounded sweet when she imagined them, but so much better in real life. She almost wanted to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. 

“I love you now, and I loved you then, and all I want is to be with you.” Zuko whispered, closing his eyes before she could see him cry. 

“Me too,” she whispered back. 

When their lips met, Yzako couldn’t help but smile. 

\--

In the morning, Zuko left early to open up the tea house, Iroh lagging behind to get some cleaning done. He had made the three of them a small, simple breakfast, insisting that it was an important part of starting the day. Yzako remained in bed, lounging as she enjoyed the extra leg room now that Zuko was gone. As happy as she was that they were back together and now had the potential to live a happy, simple life, she really, really wished they had a bigger place to sleep. 

“Any plans for today?” Iroh asked as he swept the floor. 

She shrugged. “Probably heading to the middle ring to see if I can find anything interesting to do.”

As he turned his back to her, he scowled. His mission to get her to quit pickpocketing had to begin soon, before she got herself into trouble. “Ah, the financial district. I am sure there are many great sights to see there.”

“It’s alright.” she shrugged. “Hey, uh...can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he turned back to look at her with a smile. 

“Is there something special about the white lotus tile?”

His smile only widened. “It lends itself to a magnificent pai sho strategy!”

“No, I mean...when I was coming to Ba Sing Se, a man gave me a passport with the royal seal on it. He left a lotus tile behind.”

There was a mischievous little glint in Iroh’s eyes as he continued with his sweeping. “I told you once before that one day you may greet the white lotus as a friend.”

She furrowed her brows. “He called me Golden Dragon.”

“And what a lovely title it is!”

“Do you know about it?” she pulled herself towards the edge of the bed to look at him better. “Because I didn’t until I talked to Bailong.”

“The white dragon?” Iroh asked over his shoulder. “I, too, had the great pleasure of conversing with him, several years ago. He is ancient, and far wiser than I.”

“He told me that the Golden Dragon is a title that’s been passed down for generations. He said that the Fire--” she caught herself quickly, coughing to cover her slip up. “--that everyone forgot about it for hundreds of years. Do you know anything about that?”

“Only very little.” Iroh shook his head. “Bailong was correct; there has not been a Golden Dragon in centuries. I only knew of its history thanks to records kept by the Sun Warriors.”

“The what?”

“I told you of my time studying under the masters, Ran and Shaw.” he looked back at her as he swept. “The Sun Warriors who care for and worship them have walls upon walls of written history. It was there that I saw mention of the Golden Dragon.”

He was acting as if this was a completely mundane conversation, but as Yzako remembered the open windows and her fear of being watched by Jet, she was glad that Iroh was being so nonchalant. If he were to suddenly sit down and address her seriously, it would raise suspicion in anyone who might be spying on them.

“So how did that random old man at the border know about it?” Yzako asked.

“Life works in many mysterious ways.” Iroh finished his work, leaning the broom against the wall. 

She gave him a serious look. “Come on. You know something you aren’t telling me.”

“I believe that someone was looking out for you.” he chuckled to himself. He was happy to know that the Order had managed to help her, just as he had requested. Being Grand Lotus has its perks. 

“That person wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”

“I have lived a long life and met many fascinating strangers.” Iroh said. “Perhaps, one day soon, I will tell you more about them. But for now, I am afraid I must get to work. Who knew having a job would be so rewarding!”

Yzako huffed, sitting up and leaning against the wall. “Fine.”

“Be careful in the middle ring today,” he said as he headed for the door. “Think about your choices before you make them. It is always best to reflect on one’s decisions for as long as possible, and to anticipate every outcome.”

“I will,” she sighed with a little eye roll. She didn’t know what he was talking about, and she didn’t really care. All she wanted was to go find something to do. 

An hour later, she was on a tram to the middle ring, surrounded by other travelers. She stood, looking out the window as she held onto one of the hand rails. The sun was bright, shining on the great city of Ba Sing Se, bathing it in a golden light that made it look even more impressive than usual. The huge homes of the upper ring caught her eye, and Yzako suddenly felt herself itching to go visit the spacious gardens and the clean streets that the wealthiest citizens afforded to enjoy every day. 

She would need some money to go enjoy the upper ring’s splendour, though. Perhaps today would be better spent filling her pockets so that tomorrow she could reap the benefits of her new hobby. As she stepped off the train and slipped into the crowd of bankers and financial advisors all bustling through the streets of the middle ring, her fingers found their way into pocket after pocket, grabbing however many coins she could manage without arousing suspicion. Yes, Iroh would certainly be disappointed in her if he knew just how good she was at stealing; it wasn’t a very honorable skill, and it definitely wasn’t humble. But, Yzako did have a habit of redistributing some of her wealth, and there was something good to be said about that. 

The day passed normally, Yzako enjoying some street food for lunch and then wandering the middle ring’s neighborhoods. She was anxious to get back to Zuko and Iroh, and when the sun finally began setting, she practically ran back to the train, jumping off when it stopped in the lower ring and sprinting through the streets towards the tea house. When she reached it, she slowed, and when she caught Zuko’s eye through the open door, she saw him smile. 

She jumped into his arms and he caught her easily, kissing her cheek. The shop was closing up for the night, and before long, she was walking home arm in arm with her banished prince, Iroh telling her all about the teas he brewed all day. Yeah, life in Ba Sing Se didn’t seem like it would be so bad, not when she had people like these around.


	46. The Upper Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I've had a busy week, so I might be sliiiightly slower at putting the next few chapters up.

Jet was barely sleeping anymore. As the days passed, he found himself growing more and more obsessed with trying to oust Kaida and Lee as firebenders...but he didn’t dare get close enough to get himself caught. He had to tail them from a distance, and with Smellerbee and Longshot getting more and more worried about him, he had to give up his nightly surveillance of the apartment so that he could satisfy his friends and spend the time with them. 

When he saw Kaida get on a train headed for the upper ring, he cursed under his breath. How was she able to go wherever she wanted? Very few commoners were allowed into the nice, fancy neighborhoods close to the palace without a direct invitation, and she didn’t seem to have any. What business could she have there? Was she carrying out some kind of Fire Nation plan? Was she trying to gather intel? It was fishy, whatever it was...but he couldn’t go after her without a pass of his own, and he didn’t see himself getting ahold of one anytime soon. 

With no chances of being able to follow Kaida, Jet kicked at the dirt and turned away from the transit station. He might as well head back to the tea shop and wait for Lee or Mushi to slip up there. He could try to steal the spark rocks Mushi needed to heat tea with, or maybe cause enough of a scene that one of them would have no choice but to attack him with firebending. There had to be a way to expose them for the monsters they really were, and he was going to find it even if it killed him. 

A splash of color suddenly caught his eye, and Jet paused. At the end of the street, near a brothel, stood the sex workers he always saw Kaida speaking with. They were waving to passersby, giggling behind silk fans. Were they just good members of Ba Sing Se’s lower ring, or did they know something about Kaida that he didn’t?

He narrowed his eyes and started towards them, his jaw squared and his steps quick. Jet didn’t expect them to put up much of a fight once he started questioning them. He figured this would be easy, and he would get someone to spill the beans about...well, about whatever secrets Kaida and Lee were hiding. 

What he didn’t expect was to be met with such hostility when he brought it up. 

“Why do you care?” a girl in green and white asked, hands on her hips. “Kaida’s a good person. You stay out of her business.”

“Don’t you think her ‘business’ is a little shady?” Jet asked, annoyed already. 

“No,” a shorter girl with a pink flower in her hair said haughtily. “What’s your deal, anyways?”

“Yeah, are you obsessed with her or something?” the girl next to her asked, her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“What? No!” he exclaimed. 

“Then why are you acting like it?” a tall woman in gold and green asked, watching him from behind her fan. 

“I’m--I’m not!” he let out a frustrated sigh. “I think she and Lee are dangerous. Tell me what you know now, so that I can stop them before something happens.”

The first girl rolled her eyes. “Kaida is one of the nicest people in this entire city.”

“But you can’t deny that she’s dangerous!”

“So? She’s tough.” the pink-flowered girl said. “And she’s more helpful than you, whoever you are.”

“It’s quite rude of you not to introduce yourself to four lovely ladies,” the tallest one spoke, face still mostly hidden by her fan. 

With a dramatic roll of his eyes, Jet conceded. “Fine. My name is Jet. Happy now?”

“It’s a start.” the green-flowered one said. “My name is Min, and this is Chun, Fen, and Zhang. Now that we’re acquainted, why don’t you tell us all exactly what you think is going on with Kaida?”

“Have you seen her? She’s a dangerous firebender!” Jet insisted. 

Min looked unimpressed. “Is she, now?”

“Yes!”

“How do you know, Mr. Jet?” Zhang asked. 

“I’ve been watching Lee and his uncle,” Jet leaned in, lowering his voice. “I traveled here with them. I saw Mushi heat his tea.”

Fen let out a sharp laugh. “Is that it?”

“No one likes cold tea, Mr. Jet.” Zhang hid her amused smile. 

“No, I meant he heated it with his hands!” Jet said. These girls were insufferable, already beginning to drive him up a wall. “They’re firebenders, and they’re here to cause trouble.”

“Firebenders can’t get into the city, stupid,” Chun scoffed. 

“Besides, who cares? Their tea is so good!” Fen said. 

“I’m telling you, they’re dangerous!” he shook his head. “Just the other day, I saw Kaida and Lee preying on an innocent man in an alley--”

“That man wasn’t innocent,” Chun growled up at him. 

“We sent Kaida after him.” Fen agreed. 

“She takes care of us,” Min stepped towards Jet menacingly, jabbing a finger into his chest. “Way more than any of you people do. If you don’t have anything else to say, I suggest you leave before we send her after you, too.”

“Yeah,” Chun sneered. “She won’t like hearing that you’ve been bothering us.”

Jet looked between their angry faces, knowing that he had to come up with something good, and quick. “Well, have you looked at her eyes lately?”

“What about them?” Fen asked impatiently. 

“They’re not normal,” Jet hissed. “They’re firebender eyes. And they’re not even human!”

“Just because someone has interesting eyes doesn’t mean they’re a firebender, and it certainly doesn’t mean they’re a public menace.” Min growled. “I think it’s time for you to fuck off now, Mr. Jet. You’ve taken up too much of our time for free.”

With all four of them glaring at him, Jet knew it was time to quit. He left with a huff, stalking back into the crowded street and leaving them to mutter uneasily amongst themselves. It had been far too easy to rile him up, Min noted; the young man was tightly wound, and clearly obsessed. She had seen behavior like this before from men, and she didn’t wish it on anyone, let alone her dear Kaida. 

“That was weird,” Chun mumbled. 

“What a freak,” Fen agreed. 

“We should warn Kaida.” Min decided. “I don’t like that guy at all.”

Chun paused. “You don’t think he was right though, do you? I mean, firebenders can’t sneak into Ba Sing Se, right?”

“No way,” Fen snorted, waving the thought away. “Remember when we came here? Security at Half Moon Bay is crazy tight. The Fire Nation doesn’t even know it’s there. Plus, nobody ever brings up anything about the war. I keep forgetting we even had to run from the Fire Nation.”

“He was right about her eyes, though.” Zhang said from behind her fan. “Have you ever wondered about those?”

Min frowned. “I have, but I’ve never brought it up. I’m not rude. If she wanted to tell us, then she would have by now. Her past is hers, and hers alone. Besides, even if she was a firebender...does it really matter?”

Fen and Chun looked at each other uneasily. “Well...no….”

“As long as she’s on our side, her heritage is none of our business.” Min said. “She’s one of the only people in this city who seem to give a shit about the whores of the lower ring. She’s one of us, remember?”

“She did get us a bunch of money back from that guy,” Fen said, nudging Chun with her shoulder. 

“Yeah, and if she was up to something bad, why would she waste time with us?” Chun shrugged. “I don’t care if she can bend fire or earth or nothing at all.”

Min smiled. The girls were golden-hearted and quick witted, always supporting each other whenever needed. She truly believed the story Kaida had told her about the nobleman and the Fire Nation raid; for all she knew, Kaida could have been born a firebender in one of the colonies and then sold off to a rich man to live at his estate. As long as she didn’t bother anyone she shouldn’t, it didn’t matter what Kaida really was. 

At that moment, what Kaida really was was hungry. She had spent all morning getting ready to visit the upper ring, and by the time she got there, she realized she hadn’t had any breakfast. Thankfully, her pockets were heavy, and the spacious, clean streets of Ba Sing Se’s richest district were full of expensive places to eat. She had a quick brunch, enjoying a fried platypus bear egg before she found her way to a spa. 

Yzako craved the pampering she used to receive at the palace. Whenever she wasn’t living within its walls, she had to make do with quick baths, and now she couldn’t even heat them the way she liked without arousing suspicion. She was sick of cold or lukewarm water, and when the sign for the Fancy Lady Day Spa came into view, she power walked towards it. They were bound to have hot baths and a sauna. 

“Oh, um...hello,” the lady at the door said as she approached. “D-Do you have an appointment?”

“No,” Yzako answered bluntly. “Do I need one?”

“W-Well, typically, yes, we schedule a few weeks in advance--”

“Great, so today works?” Yzako walked past her, ignoring the woman’s protests. 

“No, ma’am, actually we--”

“Give me your most luxurious package,” she said, flashing her green and gold passport.

The lady gasped at the sight of the royal seal, bowing immediately. “Oh, m-my apologies! I didn’t realize! Of course, right this way.” 

She led Yzako to a warmly lit room full of women sitting in low chairs. No one even looked up when they walked in, the rich ladies too engrossed in their conversations to spare a glance. Yzako was shown to a small wooden chair, her guide leaving quickly. She was replaced by a woman in a matching green uniform, and soon, Yzako was receiving the best pedicure of her life. 

“My name is Sen. It’s an honor to serve a bearer of the royal seal,” the pedicurist said, looking up. “Did you travel from outside the city? I haven’t seen you here before.”

“Yes,” Yzako nodded quickly. “I’m here by invitation.”

“Oh, is this your first visit to Ba Sing Se?” she asked excitedly. 

“It is, actually.”

“Isn’t it an amazing city? There’s always someone new in town!”

Yzako tilted her head. That was an interesting way of saying “this is the last safe city on earth from the Fire Nation, so refugees are constantly flooding in.” The woman wasn’t wrong, but...why did no one in Ba Sing Se ever talk about the war? Were they just pretending it didn’t exist or something? Even after the war minister’s drill had breached the outer wall, no one brought it up. Yzako had expected to walk into a panicking city, but even Zuko and Iroh didn’t seem to have any clue that it had happened at all. 

“Yeah, I guess there is,” she said slowly. “It’s, uh...definitely a busy place.”

“It is! The upper ring is much quieter, though. Now, what color paint would you like? Green and gold are in right now!”

“Gold,” Yzako said immediately. “And my fingers, too. Please.”

At the sight of her thick black claws, the pedicurist paled. When Yzako looked at her expectantly, though, she just nodded, leaning down to grab the paint pot and brush. Back at the palace, Yzako had experienced manicures and pedicures alongside Azula, but they were few and far between, often taking place during her hot baths. Her old maid, Jin, had done a good job and was clearly well trained, but she had never painted Yzako’s nails. Now, with a shiny layer of gold on her claws, she felt more like a dragon than ever before. 

“Right this way to the mud room,” Sen said once the polish was dry. “We use a nourishing blend of detoxifying minerals that leave your skin feeling refreshed and brand new!”

Yzako followed her down the hall and into another room. Stone tubs filled with warm mud lined the walls, and as she sank down into one of them, Yzako felt all the tension leaving her muscles. She needed to come do this more often. Her back still ached from everything she had been through recently, and while the mud wasn’t quite scalding enough for her taste, its heat was relaxing her tremendously. 

Sen placed cucumber slices on Yzako’s eyes and left, returning a while later with some towels. When it was time to leave the tub, she bended the mud away and wrapped her patron up in the warm cloth, leading her out into the hall once again and guiding her to a sauna. Within the heated room, Yzako was completely alone, and she took the opportunity to breathe more steam into the already hot air. Kul hummed appreciatively, grumbling a little when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to materialize and enjoy it properly. 

“Sorry, big guy,” Yzako laughed, breathing some more steam into the air. “You’ll have to sit this one out.”

He growled and she only laughed harder before sighing contentedly, enjoying the humidity on her skin. Yeah, she definitely needed to become a Fancy Lady regular. 

Her visit ended with a makeover, Sen sitting in front of her and swiping green and gold pigments over Yzako’s eyelids while another woman braided her hair and pinned it up. She wished she could have Fire Nation colors, but for the moment, this would have to do. Maybe one day the war actually would end, and she would be able to walk around Ba Sing Se in layers and layers of red and gold silks. Maybe, if Azula somehow managed to take the city in the name of the Fire Lord, Yzako could convince her to give her this spa to use for herself. 

Just before she left, she looked at herself in a mirror and realized how unseemly and plain her clothes were. She never noticed it before, but now, paired with her aristocratic makeup and hair, her boring green outfit was an eyesore. 

“Sen, where’s the closest boutique?” she asked as she stood at the front door. 

“Just across the street, actually!” Sen nodded towards a store. “They have all the latest styles for Ba Sing Se’s nobility. Some of their fashions even come from as far away as Kyoshi Island!”

Yzako bowed in thanks, leaving a pouch of gold behind as she made her way to the shop. It was quiet inside, an old woman adjusting a display of hanbok. At the sight of a customer, she straightened up and bowed, approaching the newcomer. 

“How may I help you?” she asked, eyeing Yzako’s clothing. 

“I think it’s obvious.” she smiled. 

The woman sighed in relief. “Oh, thank the spirits. I was almost afraid you weren’t aware of how terrible your outfit looks. Let’s see what Madame Blush can do, shall we?”

She grabbed Yzako’s arm, pulling her to stand in the center of the room. Madame Blush didn’t seem to need to take measurements with anything other than her eyes, accurately judging her customer’s size and then dressing her in yellow and green garments. They were finely made, fitting her perfectly and complementing her body well, but Yzako couldn’t help comparing them to the silks of the Fire Nation. As much as she was enjoying Ba Sing Se, it just wasn’t the same. 

“This is sure to impress your husband,” Madame Blush said, tying Yzako’s sash. 

“My--excuse me?” she nearly choked on air. 

Madame Blush paused, raising an eyebrow. “Am I incorrect in assuming you’re a young noblewoman with a handsome husband to fund her shopping?”

Yzako’s cheeks reddened. “I...well, not exactly….”

“What, he hasn’t popped the question? Ha!” Blush waved her hand. “Well, he’d better hurry it up. Pretty girls like you have boys lining up to ask their hand. Who is he to drag his feet? He must think he’s some bigshot to wait. He’d better have a good proposal in mind to nab you.”

Yzako couldn’t help but laugh. “We just recently reconnected...but, he used to buy me all kinds of nice jewelry and whatever I wanted. We, uh...got separated by the Fire Nation.”

Blush made a tutting sound. “You’re far too young to be affected by that old war.”

“...What?”

The woman stepped back. “Firebenders haven’t bothered Ba Sing Se in years. Nobody even talks about them anymore. I think your man is just finding excuses, miss….?”

“Kaida,” Yzako said, her eyes narrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry, but do you think there isn’t a war going on?”

Madame Blush shrugged. “Haven’t heard anything about it in years. When I was a young girl, maybe, but now?” she shook her head. “Never even crosses my mind. Now, you need a hairpiece...how about red? All the ladies are wearing flowers these days.”

As the old woman pinned a large bloom in her hair, Yzako was puzzled. No one in the entire city seemed to care about the Fire Nation, yet she knew that if she told anyone who she really was, she would be seized by guards and dragged away within seconds. What was going on? There were soldiers stationed all along the outer wall--she had seen them herself when the drill breached it--and they definitely knew that the Fire Nation was a very real threat. The people of the city itself, though...they acted like it was all a distant dream that they had escaped and then immediately put behind them. 

“And there we are,” Madame Blush smiled. “Much better, Kaida. Now, go make that man of yours propose before it’s too late. Oh, and take a matching fan! Every lady needs at least one silk fan for every outfit.”

She grabbed a dark green one, shoving it into her customer’s hand. Yzako thanked her and bowed, handing her a little bag of coins before leaving. As off putting as their conversation was, she was glad to have gotten some new clothes, feeling far less ridiculous than before as she walked through the upper ring’s shining streets. The sun was high in the sky, and she knew that she had plenty of time before Zuko and Iroh would be closing up the tea house. So, she did what she was getting best at:

She wandered. 

The upper ring was full of beautiful canals and ponds, the roads quiet and peaceful. All the houses Yzako passed were big and fancy, getting more and more elaborate leading up to the Earth King’s palace. Though it was far, she could see how massive it was, bigger even than the Fire Nation royal residence, a huge golden structure surrounded by walls. That’s all Ba Sing Se seemed to be; walls upon walls upon walls, separating everything and everyone. Even the Fire Nation capital didn’t feel as divided. 

As she continued looking at the palace, Yzako frowned. There was no way Azula would be able to conquer it. The drill barely made it through the outer wall before it was destroyed, and this palace was somehow even more imposing. It was well fortified and no doubt housed a considerable military presence, and not even a dragon would be much help without the entire Fire Nation army as backup. 

She shook her head. Not now. She didn’t want to think about Azula or the war, not after having such a nice day at the spa. Turning from the palace, she began walking back through the upper ring’s residential streets. Everyone she passed nodded to her in greetings, admiring her clothes. Well, at least she fit in. 

At the sound of someone knocking on a door, she turned. Yzako expected to see some Earth Kingdom noble visiting a friend, or maybe a rich family receiving some kind of delivery...but what her eyes focused on was anything but that. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned.

There, standing in front of a house, was the avatar and his friends.

As an old man answered the door, Yzako stood back and stared from behind her new fan. Part of her had really hoped that the avatar wasn’t in Ba Sing Se so that she didn’t have to feel conflicted about the mission Azula sent her on, but it seemed that he and all his friends were staying in the upper ring. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but when the old man shut the door again, they looked frustrated. 

“What was he talking about?” Aang asked, turning to leave. “Who’s the Dai Li?”

“There’s something fishy going on,” Sokka said as he followed. 

At the sight of Yzako watching them, he threw his arm out in front of the others, stopping them. His eyes were narrowed, meeting hers while she peered over her fan. Maybe he wouldn’t recognize her, and she could simply leave the upper ring without having to deal with anything else weird for the rest of the day. 

“Who are you? Why are you watching us?” he approached her, a deep frown on his face. 

“Sokka, don’t cause trouble!” Katara ran after him. 

“There’s something weird going on here, and now we’re being watched? I’m not the one causing trouble!” Sokka protested. When he got closer, his expression changed to something a lot grumpier. “Oh. Great. It’s just YOU.”

“Sokka!” Katara scolded him, hands on her hips. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, he’s just--wait, Yzako?”

“Shh!” she hissed sharply, closing her fan and giving the waterbender a severe look. “Do you want all of Ba Sing Se to know my real name? Come on!”

“What are you doing here?” Aang asked as he and Toph walked up to join them. 

“Is Azula here too?” Sokka dropped into a defensive stance. 

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Yzako said flatly, flipping her fan open and hiding her face again. “I’ve never met anyone with that name before.”

Sokka’s face fell, unamused. “Great. Now you’re crazy, too.”

“If we go someplace quieter, will you answer our questions?” Aang asked, frowning angrily at her. 

“I don’t imagine you’ll just let me walk off again, will you?” Yzako asked. 

“Absolutely not.” Katara said sternly. 

Yzako sighed, following them as they led her back to the house they were staying in. Aang was definitely mad at her, probably from the whole drill incident, and Sokka was determined to expose her identity to the entire city by yelling everything. She shouldn’t have even stopped to watch them in the first place, but she was far too curious to simply let it go. Now, it seemed she was paying the price. 

“What’s the deal with this chick?” Toph asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “How come she can’t choose sides?”

“I can hear, you know. Yzako said. 

Katara rolled her eyes. “We’re very disappointed in you, you know.”

“Oh no, I’m shaking.” Yzako said sarcastically. “Whatever will I do?”

“Guys, come on. Not now.” Aang sighed. 

When they reached their house, Yzako walked in and looked around. It was much nicer than the apartment she was sharing with Zuko and Iroh, a few rooms divided by cloth screens. The floors were polished, there was art hanging on the walls, and a few short steps led up to a spacious sitting area littered with plush cushions. 

“Alright, talk.” Sokka said, closing the door behind them. 

“About what?” Yzako batted her eyelashes. 

“What are you doing in Ba Sing Se?” Aang asked, his face set angrily. “Where’s Azula? And don’t lie!”

“I’ll know if you do.” Toph said menacingly. 

“Wow, okay, straight to business.” Yzako folded her fan up again and raised her hands in surrender. “I’m here as a refugee.”

“A likely story!” Sokka shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger in her face. “We all saw you at the outer wall! You’re up to something, I know it!”

“No I’m not.”

“You’re lying!”

“...She’s not, actually,” Toph said. 

“See?” Yzako smirked. “Look, I’m just living in this city and minding my own business now. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“How come we haven’t seen you until today?” Katara asked, folding her arms. “Have you been sneaking around somewhere?”

“I live in the lower ring. It’s all I can afford.”

“Then why are you in the upper ring wearing fancy clothes today?” Sokka scoffed. “Trying to infiltrate the palace?”

“Are you kidding?” Yzako snorted, sitting down on a cushion. “It’s so heavily fortified you would need an entire army to breach its gates.”

“So you’re thinking about it!”

She rolled her eyes. “Do you guys have any actually useful things to ask me, or can I go home now?”

“Where’s Azula?” Aang growled. 

“I don’t know. We parted ways after the drill was destroyed.”

The avatar looked to Toph, who nodded to confirm that Yzako was telling the truth. “Alright. How did you get into the city?”

“I snuck into customs and used my passport, just like anybody else would.”

“What passport?” Katara asked. “They don’t exactly accept Fire Nation IDs here, you know.”

Yzako pulled her passport out, showing them. They all clustered around her, their faces falling in shock when they saw it. Everyone but Toph was impressed, Sokka’s jaw nearly hitting the floor. 

“What?” Toph asked. “What’s it say?”

“I-It has the royal seal,” Aang gasped.

“Wow. Guess I’m not the only one with fancy credentials here.” Toph said. “That’s even more useful than the Beifong crest.”

Yzako snorted at the mention of the Beifong family, remembering the way Min had tried to guess that her noble suitor was a member. “Yeah, some old guy gave it to me.”

“Some...wait, what?” Sokka asked. 

“That’s somehow really not that weird in comparison to everything else going on,” Katara shrugged. 

“What do you know about what’s going on in this city?” Aang asked.

“Absolutely nothing.” Yzako said. “I’m really not in the loop, guys. I just spend my days wandering the lower ring.

“Have you noticed how weird everything is, though? Nobody will talk about the war, and we can’t get an audience with the Earth King.” Aang frowned. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Yzako mirrored his expression. “Yeah, I have noticed. A lady today was acting like the war ended decades ago, and nobody seems to know it’s even going on.”

“That old man we just talked to said to stay away from the Dai Li,” Sokka put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. It has to be connected somehow.”

Yzako stood. “Well, you all can work on that. I’ve got to be home by dinner.”

“Home? Where’s your home, exactly?” Katara asked. 

Yzako paused near the door. “A halfway house in the lower ring. The owner cooks big meals for everyone at night. You know. Because we’re all piss broke.”

With no real reason to force her to stay and no further questions, they all watched her leave. She was the last person they had expected to run into, but they had also been wondering where she could have gone after they took down Azula’s drill. 

“She was lying,” Toph spoke up after the door closed. “She’s not staying at a halfway house.”

Aang narrowed his eyes. “We can’t get distracted right now. We need to figure out a way to talk to the Earth King.”

Yzako half expected someone to come running after her, but when nobody did, she sighed in relief. Unfolding her fan, she walked to the train station quickly, showing the guards her passport and getting out of the upper ring as fast as possible. Their conversation about the Dai Li and the war had made her skin crawl for some reason, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. 

Once she reached the lower ring, the feeling of dread finally lifted, and she was able to slip through the crowded streets easily and find comfort there. The sun was starting to set by the time she neared the tea house, and at the sight of it, she smiled. It was a bit crowded when she walked inside, Zuko kissing her cheek as he passed her with a few cups of tea in his hands. Yzako grinned, sitting down at a table in the back so that she could wait for them to close up and head home. 

Mr. Pao’s shop was calming, and when Iroh set a cup of her new favorite jasmine tea in front of her, Yzako felt the rest of her anxiety melt away. The avatar could play around with the Dai Li all he wanted; she would stick to the lower ring and try to enjoy her new life. 

“You certainly look lovely this evening,” Iroh said, bowing his head to her. 

“Do you like it?” she perked up. “I went to the upper ring and found the nicest day spa there.”

“Some pampering is always good!” Iroh smiled, happy to hear that she had done something other than pick pockets all day. “And your new outfit is ravishing. I think my nephew has noticed it, as well.”

He grinned cheekily, nudging her with his elbow. Yzako laughed, looking over at Zuko. He was clearing a table, and when he glanced up to see her watching him, he nearly dropped the stack of cups in his hands. Yeah, his girl definitely looked stunning. He had noticed it the second she walked in the door. It was times like these where he wished more than ever that they had their own room in the apartment, so that he could undress her layer by layer and truly enjoy her beauty. 

But no, they had to share a room with Iroh and his monstrous snoring. 

Iroh moved on, chuckling to himself as he poured fresh tea for customers. Yzako was happy to watch and wait for the shop to close, sipping on her jasmine as she watched people come and go. By the time it was dark outside, almost every table was still occupied, Iroh’s masterful brewing keeping the house comfortably busy even as neighboring restaurants began to close. 

“Best tea in the city,” a guard sitting at the table next to Yzako said, nodding to Iroh as he served him a cup. 

“The secret ingredient is love,” the old firebender smiled. He returned to the back of the shop to stand next to Mr. Pao. 

“I think you’re due for a raise,” Yzako heard him say. 

She smiled. It was heartwarming to see Iroh so happy. Plus, a raise would mean they were one step closer to a bigger apartment. She doubted he would let her use her stolen money to pay the rent, but maybe she could get him to budge if he was making a little more on his own anyways….

The door suddenly flew open and she jumped. When she recognized the perpetrator, her expression soured. 

“I’m tired of waiting!” Jet yelled. “These two men are firebenders!”

He pointed at Zuko and Iroh. Both of them were staring at him with bewildered expressions, though Zuko looked significantly more frog-like than his uncle. When Jet grabbed the tiger blades off his belt, Yzako stood, her heart hammering away in her chest. No, this was ridiculous. He was going to get them all killed, or worse! This stupid boy needed to shut up before something happened. 

“Jet,” she warned. “Calm down.”

“And her too!” he whipped around, pointing one of his hook swords at her. “They all are! I know they’re firebenders! I saw the old man heating his tea!”

Yzako almost sat back down. Really? That’s all the dirt he had on them still? Well, at least she knew that they had all been doing a good job of staying hidden. If the person who had been spying on them didn’t even know the truth, then random citizens definitely didn’t. 

“He works in a tea shop,” one of the guards sitting next to Yzako rolled his eyes. 

“He’s a firebender! I’m telling you!” Jet insisted. “A-and what about her? Look at her eyes!” he pointed towards Yzako. 

She unfolded her fan, hiding behind it as quickly as she could. Alright, so he had a little more on them than she thought.

“Drop your swords, boy.” the guard stood up. “Nice and easy.”

“You’ll have to defend yourself,” Jet ignored him, crossing his blades and advancing towards Iroh. “Then everyone will know.”

Yzako tensed and Kul growled in her ears, rousing himself. Neither of them liked the sight of someone trying to attack Iroh...but until Jet actually did something, they needed to stay still. 

“Go ahead, show them what you can do,” Jet smirked. 

The guard moved to stand, but before he could grab his sword, Zuko was pulling it out of its hilt. “You want a show? I’ll give you a show.” He split the blade in two, revealing it to actually be a pair of dao swords, and Yzako barely had time to grab her tea cup from her table before he had pulled it away from her and kicked it towards Jet.

As she watched Zuko fight, she remembered why she loved him so much. He didn’t need firebending to prove that he was a better swordsman than just about anyone in the city. Jet was no match for him, his movements clumsy compared to the scarred prince, and as Zuko led him out into the street, he stumbled along after him. 

Yzako ran out, Iroh following close behind. 

“This is bad,” she whispered to him. 

“I agree,” Iroh’s eyes were wide in alarm. 

“You must be getting tired of using those swords!” Jet taunted as they locked blades. “Why don’t you go ahead and firebend at me?”

Yzako could see Zuko’s narrowed eyes. He was grimacing angrily, giving Jet a rough shove backwards. 

“Please, son!” Iroh called as a small crowd began to grow around them. “You’re confused! You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Yzako nodded in agreement. Zuko was going to rip Jet apart if he had the chance, and that wouldn’t exactly help them in their quest to remain lowkey. 

“Jet, come on!” she yelled. “This is stupid!”

“Bet you wished they’d help you out with some fire blasts right now!” Jet snarled, his blades slicing through the air as he spun away from Zuko. 

“You’re the one who needs help,” his opponent growled, pinning one of the hook swords against the ground with his own weapon. 

Jet let go of his tiger blade, stepping back and narrowly dodging a swipe. Zuko barely missed his face, slicing the stalk of wheat that Jet kept in his mouth. 

“You see that?” he yelled, running backwards. “The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! I’ll never let it happen!”

The crowd surrounded them, watching with eager faces as the two men fought. They were back to back, each taking a step at a time and rotating while their blades collided with loud clangs. Yzako tensed to move, wanting to go and grab them by the collars to force them to stop, but before she could get anywhere, Iroh put a hand on her arm. With a shake of his head, he told her no, and she scrunched her nose in frustration. It would probably only arouse suspicion if she entered the fray, but damn, did she want to.

“Drop your weapons!” a man’s voice called over the crowd. 

Jet stumbled back as two figures dressed in black appeared. “Arrest them! They’re firebenders!”

Yzako felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of them. It was the same feeling she had earlier in the upper ring. 

“This poor boy is confused!” Iroh said, stepping near Zuko. “We’re just simple refugees.”

“This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees!” Mr. Pao yelled. 

“It’s true, sir.” the guard from the shop said. “I saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the whole city.”

Yzako opened her fan, hiding her face behind it. So the guard was deferring to these strangers...who were they?

“Oh, that’s very sweet,” Iroh said with a blush. 

“Come with us, son.” one of the men grabbed Jet, easily disarming him. 

“You don’t understand!” he yelled as they dragged him away into the dark street. “They’re Fire Nation! You have to believe me!”

He was tossed into a wagon, his hands bound by some kind of stone cuffs. As they rode away with him, Yzako stood with Iroh and Zuko, inching closer to the two of them. She suddenly felt very, very vulnerable and out in the open, and she wanted nothing more than to get back home to her bed. 

“That was some mighty fine swordsmanship, son,” the guard said, walking up to Zuko. “Have you ever served? I’ve only seen such mastery in army officers.”

Zuko paused as he handed over the man’s weapon. “Yes, I did. I...was injured.”

The guard nodded. The scar on his face was clearly from a burn, and who was he to question the authenticity of the story? “Glad you were able to hold him off. It’s a good thing the Dai Li were here to take care of things.”

Yzako’s stomach suddenly dropped. “The Dai Li?”

The guard nodded. “They take care of things here in Ba Sing Se. Kind of a...special division, if you will.”

As he chatted a bit with Iroh and Mr. Pao, Yzako felt anxiety creeping up her back. It couldn’t be a coincidence. There was something weird going on in Ba Sing Se, and she just hoped she could avoid whatever it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think?? The Dai Li are honestly so scary to me, if I was Yzako I would be absolutely losing it after feeling like I was being watched lmao.


	47. A Day Alone

“Zuko, what are you doing?” Yzako mumbled, rolling over to burrow under the covers. 

“Shh,” he ran his fingers through her hair, grinning at the sight of her. She had gotten her own sleeping gown, a plain green garment that fell to her mid thigh. As she sought out the warmth of more blankets like a reptile desperate for heat, the nightgown rode up on her hip, giving Zuko a nice view that made him want to wake her up that much more.

The sun was just rising and Iroh had already left to open the tea house, leaving the two young firebenders alone. It was their first day together with some privacy since...well, since they had been in Ba Sing Se. The moment Zuko woke up and realized that he could finally have Yzako all to himself, he eagerly ushered his uncle out of the apartment, wishing him well before locking the door. He was determined to make the most of this day...but Yzako seemed more determined to sleep in, grumbling half-awake nonsense as she tried to wrap herself in blankets.

“Wanna sleep,” she said, her voice muffled by the pillow. 

“Uncle just left.”

“Good.”

“I have the day off.”

“Fine. Sleep.”

He leaned down, kissing her neck just behind her ear. “We have the entire day to ourselves.”

That seemed to rouse her slightly. “Hm?”

Zuko’s hand slipped around her waist, pulling her back towards him slightly. “Just you and me...alone...for the whole day….”

Yzako looked back at him, her eyes sleepy. “The whole day?”

“Mhm.” he grabbed a handful of her ass and squeezed. 

She made a little sound that was almost like a growl, arching her back and shoving her ass further into his hand. “You’re so nice and warm….”

Zuko’s fingers ghosted over her skin, gently massaging her hip before continuing on and dipping down between her legs. When he found that she wasn’t wearing anything under her thin night dress, he smirked, his lips catching her earlobe in a playful nip. Yzako responded with a quiet gasp, moving her thighs apart so that Zuko’s fingers could play with their favorite toy. 

“Already wet?” he teased, parting her folds and rubbing his middle and ring fingers along them. 

“Maybe I had an especially nice dream,” Yzako grinned, pressing herself back against his groin again. 

He sucked in a sharp breath and rolled his hips forward, groaning in appreciation as his morning wood rubbed against her. “I missed this ass.”

“What else did you miss?” she bit her lip, still smiling. 

“This pussy.” his finger pushed into her and she let go of her lip in a gasp, her face heating up. 

“O-Oh…” she moaned, closing her eyes. 

“You’re already soaking….”

“I-I haven’t exactly been getting much attention,” she breathed as his finger began slowly pumping in and out of her. She hadn’t realized just how horny she was until he was touching her, and now that she was thinking about it, she couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten off. 

Zuko added a second finger and the sound Yzako let out was positively delicious. “Then let me take care of you.”

Her gasps turned into moans, getting louder and louder the more he worked her. He loved the way she sounded, her breaths coming out in whiney pants. When he felt her hips starting to rock against his hand, he suddenly moved, and Yzako’s eyes widened at the sensation of his tongue.

“Ohhh, fuck,” she moaned, turning onto her back and grabbing handfuls of his hair. 

He was lapping at her greedily, his tongue moving in long, broad strokes over her before he sucked at her clit. Why had she ever wanted to kill him and lose someone who was so good at giving head? That would have been such a waste of a perfectly good tongue, not to mention the handsome man attached to it. 

Zuko was ravenous. He was eating her out as if this could be his last meal. Both of his hands gripped her hips tightly, leaving red fingerprints as his skin heated up. Fuck, he had missed the taste of her. She was just as delicious as he remembered, maybe even more so, and the noises she made were just an added bonus. She came with a strangled cry and he reveled in the wetness that covered his face, sitting back to lick his lips as she came down from her high. 

Yzako reached for him and he bent down to kiss her, letting her taste herself on him. His hands moved up from her hips to run over her torso, pushing her nightgown up. When she sat up to take it off, he leaned back, untying his pants and kicking them to the floor before sliding over her again. 

“You ready?” he asked, searching her face. 

She nodded eagerly, wrapping her arms around him. “Please fuck me…”

Who was he to disobey?

He pushed himself into her slowly, watching her for any signs of discomfort. Yzako was perfectly fine, though; she gasped at the feeling of his cock, moaning happily as he filled her inch by inch. Zuko always did a good job of making sure she was more than ready for him by the time he was done eating her out, and besides...it was fun watching her cum over and over again. 

He dropped his head to her neck, kissing and biting as he found a rhythm. Yzako’s legs wrapped around his waist and he pushed deeper, grunting at the sensation. She was so warm and so comfortably tight round his cock, and he fit inside of her so perfectly it was almost as if they had been made for each other. Both of them were getting hotter, their fingers leaving small welts behind wherever they pressed against skin. At the feeling of Yzako’s claws digging into his back, Zuko moaned, enjoying the sensation of pain. 

“Fuck,” he mumbled against her neck. “More.”

She hesitantly applied more pressure. “You sure?”

He groaned in response, grabbing her tit and giving it a rough squeeze. His thrusts grew faster and rougher, and before he could stop himself and try to enjoy the feeling of her a bit longer, he had to quickly pull out and finish on her stomach. He was breathing hard, his chest covered in a sheen of sweat that made Yzako’s stomach jump. She expected him to lay down next to her again or maybe go get water, but instead, he grabbed her hips and flipped her over, his eyes dark. 

“I’m not done with you,” he growled. 

She froze at the sound of his voice. It was heavy with lust and greed, the voice of a man who knew what he wanted. She was surprised to see that he was still hard, almost as if he hadn’t just cum, but she wasn’t about to argue. There was nowhere else she would rather be. 

“Ass up.” he commanded. 

Yzako did as he told her, watching over her shoulder as he lined his cock up with her and thrusted inside again. She gripped the sheets, tearing them with her claws as he fucked her, his cock dragging over the most perfect spots over and over again. Fuck, had he always been this good? She remembered loving their sex, but this was something else entirely. Zuko was insatiable, pounding into her with low grunts and moans that only made her wetter and wetter. 

He put a hand on her back, between her shoulder blades, holding her down. She felt so amazing, it was almost making him aggressive. He had rarely dominated her so blatantly like this, preferring slow, passionate, fiery sex, but Yzako wasn’t about to make him stop. She loved it, whimpering against the pillows as he manhandled her. All of the anger he had stored up in the past few weeks was coming out in the form of sexual aggression, and honestly? It was the biggest fucking turn on. 

“Oh, fuck...you feel amazing,” he panted, grabbing a handful of her hair and yanking her head up. He leaned down, licking up the side of her throat, his breath hot on her ear. 

She moaned and he grinned, his free hand reaching around her hip to play with her clit. A symphony of whines left her mouth, desperate sounds from a desperate girl, and by the time had cum again, she was a complete mess. He let her collapse on the bed, overwhelmed and overstimulated, her own cum running down her thighs as she tried to catch her breath. 

“W-wow,” she panted. 

Zuko smirked, grabbing a pitcher of water from the table and getting himself a drink. “Have fun?”

Yzako nodded, staring up at him. Spirits, he was handsome, especially when he was sweaty. “That was even better than I remember.”

He walked back to her, offering her the water. “Guess I really missed you, or something….”

She swatted at him playfully. “Or something?”

He just grinned, kissing her forehead. “Okay, so I missed you a lot.”

Yzako took the pitcher from him and drank greedily. “I did, too.”

“Can we go all day?” he asked hopefully. 

She lowered the pitcher from her lips and growled. “We fucking better.”

After a quick breather, the water pitcher was safely back on the table, and Zuko was attacking her with kisses. They stayed in their bed for hours, hardly taking any breaks as they enjoyed each other. Their time apart had changed them both, but when it came down to what really mattered, there was a comfortable familiarity; they could still remember each other’s favorite positions and the special spots that drove them crazy. A bite here, a claw there...while they had to be careful to avoid singeing the sheets or accidentally setting something on fire, they were still free to mark each other up, and by the time they were tired out, they were both covered in hickeys and bruises. 

At the sight of Zuko’s back, Yzako paled. She had nearly sliced him to ribbons, angry red gashes stretching across his skin. He hadn’t even winced when she had done it, though, and she hadn’t realized just how sharp her claws really were. She needed to be more careful. She couldn’t stand the idea of causing him harm anymore, the mere thought of it making her nauseous with anxiety.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a little bit of panic rising in her voice. It was making her think of all the times she imagined what she would do if she could get her hands on him, back just a few weeks ago when all she wanted to do was beat the shit out of him. 

“Huh?” he looked back at her as he stood and stretched. 

“Your back….”

“What?” he frowned. “Oh...yeah, I’m fine. Wait, why do you look so worried?”

“Nothing!” she squeaked, shaking her head quickly and looking away again. 

Zuko noticed and sighed. “Hey. It’s fine. It felt good, okay?”

She looked back at him and drew her knees up to her chest. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he smiled, sitting down next to her. “It takes more than a few claw marks to take me down. You know that.”

With a sigh, she relaxed a little. “Yeah….”

“Hey,” he cupped her cheek, turning her head to look at him. “I love you.”

She smiled back at him, covering his hand with her own. “I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was a little short! I wanted to give everybody a little bit of smutty goodness again finally!


	48. The Tale of Yzako

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little longer than usual. I went back and forth a bunch trying to decide how I wanted to handle Tales of Ba Sing Se, but I think I'm happy with what I settled on. If you couldn't already guess from the song, it's a little emotional, so buckle up!

Yzako started her day like any other. She woke to the feeling of Zuko’s kisses on her forehead, a smile spreading across her face when she opened her eyes to see him. They had been in Ba Sing Se for a few weeks now, and things were settling into a regular routine. Whenever both Zuko and Iroh had to work, she would spend her time wandering the city, hanging out with Min and the others while she waited for the tea shop to close. Sometimes, she and the girls would go in for an afternoon cup, earning stares from other customers as they filled up a table with their bright, elegant robes. Mr. Pao never said anything; he knew that Yzako--or Kaida, as everyone knew her--was living with his tea maker, and the street girls all tipped incredibly well and usually racked up a large bill. 

Yzako avoided the upper ring, preferring to stay as far away from the avatar and the Dai Li as possible. After the incident with Jet, she hadn’t seen them lurking around the lower ring...but then again, that was the only time she had seen them at all. She wasn’t dumb; she knew that they had to be hiding somewhere, around corners, on rooftops, maybe even in the sewers...but she had absolutely no desire to attract their attention. 

She also had no desire to get wrapped up in whatever the avatar was doing. If she was going to successfully keep her head down, she needed to just mind her business and stay far away from Aang and his friends. She also didn’t need Zuko knowing that they were in the upper ring, not when he was getting so comfortable with this humble life. He would never admit it, but she could tell that he was starting to hate working at the shop less and less, his complaints getting fewer and farther between with each passing day. Iroh was as content as ever, brewing tea all day long, cooking dinner for Zuko and Yzako, and occasionally bringing home a nice potted plant or two to decorate with. 

All in all, it wasn’t a bad setup. 

“Not working today?” Yzako asked when she saw that Iroh wasn’t leaving with his nephew. 

“Oh, no,” he smiled as he cleaned up from breakfast. “I asked Mr. Pao for the day off. It is a special occasion. What about you? Any plans?”

She sat up in bed, stretching her arms up above her head. “I don’t know. I could go find Min, I guess….”

“Ah, Min,” Iroh chuckled. “What a lovely woman. Her clients are very lucky men!”

“And women,” Yzako piped up. 

“Yes, of course. If I were younger….”

She wrinkled her nose in mock disgust, laughing. “Don’t be gross, old man. Besides, I’m sure she’d be more than happy to take your money.”

He laughed loudly and Yzako grinned. Iroh didn’t really seem like the type to pay clandestine lovers, but she had been wrong before. He was a little pervy when he wanted to be, though always respectful in the end, and if he still had access to his royal pension, she would probably be encouraging him to go pay Min and the others. 

“I am sure Miss Min is a wonderful companion.” Iroh smiled. “And what a fantastic conversationalist she is! Just yesterday, she and I were speaking about the best way to bake wagashi desserts, and she regaled me with the loveliest stories of the finest foods in the upper ring.” he sighed dreamily. “One can only hope to someday experience such luxuries.”

Yzako snorted. Yeah, what luxuries...to a former crown prince, the wagashi desserts of Ba Sing Se’s nobility were nothing. Iroh was almost too good at staying humble sometimes, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.

“Makes you wonder why Min stays in the lower ring, though,” she said. “If she has clients who take her to those nice parties, why not just move there?”

“Finding housing in the upper ring can be very difficult. I have heard of people staying on waiting lists for years before being granted the opportunity.” Iroh finished tidying up. He hummed a little tune to himself as he walked to their small wall mirror, grabbing a rice hat from his chest of drawers. 

“What’s the special occasion you mentioned?” Yzako asked as she watched him. 

He turned to her, smiling warmly. “I have a very special birthday to celebrate.”

“Yours?” Her eyes widened. Had she somehow not known that it was Iroh’s birthday? She was going to kill Zuko when he got home. How could he not tell her? Iroh shouldn’t have to go celebrate alone, not when he had a perfectly good little family to--

Her thoughts were interrupted by one of his signature loud laughs. “No, no. Mine is a long way off.”

Yzako sighed in relief. “Oh, good. You scared me for a second.”

As Iroh headed for the door, he turned and winked at her. “I do expect some home brewed tea on my special day when it does come, though. There is no greater joy in life than enjoying a warm cup with those you love.”

“Y-yes, of course!” she jumped up, wearing just her nightgown as she walked to the door with him. “Whose birthday is it, though?”

Uncle Iroh paused on his way out, looking back at her with a pleasant, yet sad smile. “Someone I have not seen in a long, long time.”

With that, he was walking out into the busy street, leaving Yzako with more questions than answers. 

She shook her head, stepping back into the apartment and closing the door. She had half a mind to go running after him, but that felt a little overkill, especially when he seemed perfectly happy to go alone. How was she supposed to spend her day, though? With both Iroh and Zuko gone, she suddenly felt incredibly lonely. Even though it was normal for her to begin her days alone like this, she somehow felt...left out? Ignored? 

With an angry snarl, Yzako cleared the thoughts from her head. She just needed to find something to do, and then she would be a bit happier. Dressing quickly, she ran out into the street, eager to go find Min and the others and at least enjoy some of their “fantastic” conversation, as Iroh would put it. 

She tore through the crowds in the direction of their usual haunt, but when she got there, she skidded to a stop. The only girl standing on the corner was a grumpy looking Chun, her shoulders hunched and her face twisted into a grimace. When she spotted Yzako, she waved, immediately delving into her problems. 

“He didn’t want both of us!” she exclaimed. “How could he only want to pay for Fen? We’re like--like a packaged deal!”

“Wow,” Yzako had to admit, she was actually pretty impressed. “Want me to go beat him up? I’m already so fucking bored today, I need something to do.”

Chun sighed. “No, no, it’s fine. He paid up front and all that. I’m just mad.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Fine. Where’s everyone else?”

“Working or sleeping.” Chun nodded over her shoulder towards the brothel. “We’ve been busy all night and it’s not slowing down.”

“That’s good at least.” Despite her words, Yzako frowned. 

“Why don’t you go do something fun in the upper ring? Oh! Go back to that day spa you talked about!” Chun said excitedly. “I wish I could go...so get a pedicure for me!”

“Oh, I dunno...I’ve kinda been avoiding the upper ring lately,” Yzako shifted her weight awkwardly. 

“What, are you scared of all the rich people?” The other girl barked a laugh. “Don’t be a wimp! Go have a nice day!”

Yzako snorted angrily. “I’m not scared, and I’m definitely not a wimp!”

“Then go prove it,” Chun laughed, giving her a light shove. “We’ll all hang out later. I want some of Mushi’s pearl tea, I’ve been craving it all day…”

“He’s got the day off,” Yzako said crossly.

“Ugh!” Chun tossed her hands into the air. “I just can’t catch a break today!”

“Me neither,” Yzako mumbled as she slipped back into the crowd. 

So, all of her friends were preoccupied, the lower ring was boring, and she was too awake to go sleep the day away. She didn’t want to risk the Dai Li watching her in the upper ring, but what could they possibly throw at her that she couldn’t handle? They hadn’t bothered her the night they apprehended Jet, and maybe if she stayed away from the avatar, she could manage to have a nice relaxing spa day to herself after all.

At the thought of it, Kul rumbled happily. Though he couldn’t manifest and enjoy a team of people massaging his half-physical scales, the ease that Yzako had felt when she visited Fancy Lady last had transferred over to him a little, and there was nothing the dragon loved more than luxury and pampering.

There was no way Yzako was walking back there in her boring clothes, though. After a quick stop back home to change, she was off again, heading for the train station and showing the guards her passport like usual. It was a quick ride, the earthbenders standing at the back of the car pushing it along the track easily, and before she knew it, Yzako was standing in front of the Fancy Lady Day Spa once again.

“O-oh, Miss Kaida!” The woman at the door said, greeting her brightly. “We’ve missed you!”

Yzako relaxed slightly at the sight of her. “Give me the works again. Please.” 

“Of course, Miss Kaida. Anything for a valued guest.” The lady bowed, leading her to the nail room. 

What she saw there almost made her scream.

“See? Is this nice, or what?” Katara asked, lounging in her chair as a woman filed her nails down.

“I’m going with ‘or what!’” Toph said angrily, bracing herself as a pedicurist scraped the dirt off her feet. 

It took all of Yzako’s strength not to yell in annoyance. 

“Right here, Miss Kaida,” The woman leading her gestured to a nice chair with a red cushion on it. “One of the girls will be with you shortly.”

“Thanks,” Yzako mumbled. Maybe if she just kept her head down and stayed quiet, Katara and Toph wouldn’t—

“Hey, Yz—Kaida!” Katara said, waving with her free hand. 

So much for that strategy.

She sighed and looked up. “Hey, Katara.”

“I didn’t know you liked the spa,” the waterbender said, oblivious to Yzako’s discomfort. 

Their chairs were relatively close together, though not directly next to each other, and Yzako got away with avoiding Katara’s eyes easily. “Well, you know me. I love some pampering.”

“Yeah, well I don’t!” Toph shouted as two more women came to work on her. 

Yzako wrinkled her nose at the small dust cloud that was forming around the earthbender’s feet. “You two seem to be, uh...enjoying yourselves.”

“No!” Toph yelled.

“Ignore her, she’s just upset that they’re touching her feet.” Katara said over Toph’s angry cursing. “I thought we should have a girls’ day together, since we’ve all been so busy. How about you?”

“The same, kind of…” Yzako looked down as a woman sat before her and began to work on her nails. 

“Well, it’s fun that we’re all here together!” 

“Yep,” Yzako sighed. “So fun.”

Katara chattered about Ba Sing Se, making easy conversation with the spa employees while Toph protested over and over. Yzako tried to ignore them both, eventually managing to find some kind of peace, and by the time they were walking into the mud room, she was feeling relaxed. The heat of her tub helped settle her irritation, and as it turned out, Katara and Toph weren’t the worst companions in the world; while Katara was annoyingly motherly, Toph was, to put it plainly, fun as shit.

“Hey, hey Kaida,” she whispered loudly. “Check this out.”

Yzako looked over just in time to see her flick her wrist, a glob of mud flying up from Katara’s tub and hitting the waterbender in the face. 

“Hey!” Katara yelled, wiping it off. “Knock it off! Don’t be so childish!”

Her stern words went unacknowledged, though, both of the other girls howling with laughter. 

“You two are even worse than Sokka!” Katara’s expression grew angrier as they continued ignoring her. “I expect this from Toph, but not you, Kaida!”

“Yeah, but it was worth it,” Yzako grinned. 

“I didn’t even need to see her face to know how priceless it was!” Toph shrieked with laughter. 

Katara huffed. “I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m dealing with toddlers!”

“Lighten up,” Yzako chuckled. 

“Yeah, come on. You can’t be a fun sucker all the time, Katara.” Toph said smugly. 

“Oh, you think I’m a fun sucker? That I--what, that I suck all the fun out of everything?” Katara glared, even though she knew the blind girl wouldn’t be able to see it. 

She suddenly flicked her own wrist, a blob of mud hitting Toph. Yzako burst out into laughter, but she was quickly interrupted as she met the same fate. So, it looked like Katara could be fun, after all. 

When the three were led into the sauna, Yzako finally allowed herself to relax fully. The humid heat of the enclosed room pulled all the tension out of her muscles, and as Katara and Toph tended to the hot rocks in the center, she exhaled more and more steam from her nostrils. It felt so good to be surrounded by nothing but warmth for once. She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes happily.They all sighed, at ease now that they were fully hidden from any curious eyes in the rest of the spa. 

“You know, you’re not too bad,” Toph said, giving Yzako’s arm a punch. 

“You’re alright, too.” She returned it without thinking or even opening her eyes, the earthbender grinning as the force managed to push her out of her seat a little bit.

“Yeah, I like this one!” Toph announced. 

Katara laughed. “Good to see you’re feeling better, Kaida.”

“What are you talking about?” Yzako cracked an eye open. 

“The other day you seemed...off.”

“Yeah, well...we all agreed this place is weird.” Yzako shrugged, closing her eye again. “I’ve been sticking to the lower ring where it feels safer.”

“We’ll figure out what’s going on soon,” Katara frowned. “Today is supposed to be for relaxation. We shouldn’t even be talking about this, probably.”

“Hey, you brought it up.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” the waterbender laughed lightly. “I’m glad we ran into you, though. I was almost getting a little worried.”

“Oh, come on. No you weren’t.” Yzako scoffed. “We’re not even friends.”

“Yeah, but still...you helped us in the Serpent’s Pass when you didn’t have to. You’re a good person...somewhere in there.”

“Gee, thanks,” Yzako said sarcastically. “How heartwarming.”

Katara laughed again. “You’re welcome!”

The spa visit ended with makeovers, Toph complaining the entire time about how useless it was to put makeup on her when she didn’t know or care how it looked. Katara reassured her that it was lovely, though, and by the time they parted ways, all three girls were satisfied with their appearance. 

Yzako got herself a quick lunch in the upper ring before walking back towards the tram. As much as she had ended up enjoying herself at the spa, she wanted nothing more than the safety of the lower ring’s crowded streets. Her skin wasn’t crawling the way it had the last time she visited Ba Sing Se’s nicest district, but the memory of it was enough to make her uncomfortable. 

When she accidentally bumped into someone, she was shaken from her thoughts. Yzako was opening her mouth to apologize profusely before scurrying away, but when she saw who it was, she rolled her eyes. 

“Hey, watch where you’re--oh.” Sokka rolled his eyes right back at her. “Great. It’s just you.”

“I could say the same thing,” she growled. 

“What are you doing here anyway?” he asked, eyes narrowing. “You’re probably up to no good, aren’t you?”

“No, dumbass. I spent the morning at the spa and now I’m...I dunno. Trying to find something to do.” she shrugged. “What about you?”

“Why do you care?” he asked suspiciously. 

“What, I can’t ask questions?”

“No, you can’t!”

“I cannot possibly roll my eyes harder at you, Sokka.”

“Neither can I!” he exclaimed. “At--at you, I mean! Not myself!”

“Whatever,” she called over her shoulder, already walking away. 

“Don’t just walk away from me!” he yelled. 

“I’m already gone!” she shouted, not bothering to turn around and betray the fact that she was smiling. 

She hopped on another train, returning to the lower ring quickly. Instead of stopping home to change again, she wandered the streets in her nice clothes, glaring harshly at anyone who looked at her for too long. Her neighborhood was tough, full of people just trying to make it in a crowded city that allowed little vertical class movement, but Yzako knew that she was tougher. Nobody in Ba Sing Se was ever going to be prepared to deal with the Golden Dragon, especially not the petty thieves of the lower ring. 

“Hey, watch it!” she snarled as a man bumped into her near an alleyway. 

He was small and scraggly, his hairline receding, his clothes ragged. He looked exactly like someone who would try to rob her at knifepoint...and then do a shitty job of it. 

“You trying to pick my pockets?” she asked, stepping towards him menacingly. 

“N-no!” he said, hands up in surrender. When she raised an eyebrow at him, he crumbled. “Fine, I was, okay? J-just leave me alone, I’m sorry!”

“Don’t let me catch you trying that shit with me again,” Yzako growled. 

He nodded quickly before turning tail and running away. Yzako shook her head, continuing on her aimless walk. Some people just didn’t have it in themselves to lead rough lives like that, and that man was one of them. He was probably hungry and out of work, like so many other refugees...but that didn’t mean he could take her hard-earned stolen money. If he had just asked her for it, like the people begging on the street, she would have happily parted with some of her coins...but trying to pick her pockets was a dangerous game, one that was sure to end in some broken bones. 

The sun was high in the sky when Yzako ran into another familiar face. Now that she was out of the upper ring, she thought for sure that she wouldn’t be seeing anyone else from her past, but as she walked by a small, rundown house, she heard a voice she recognized. 

“I’ll be back soon, honey!” Than called to the woman standing in the doorway. 

She smiled, waving with her free hand, holding a bundled up baby in her other. “Have a nice day, dear!”

Yzako could only stand and stare. Than and Ying and the little baby she had helped deliver were there, living semi-comfortably in the lower ring. It was so crowded with so many new refugees arriving every day that it was no wonder she had never seen them before, but it still shocked her. 

“Oh, excuse me!” Than yelled, noticing her and running over. 

She gulped. Why couldn’t she just have one day without something weird happening?

“It’s you!” he said happily when he reached her. “I wasn’t sure at first, but there’s no doubt in my mind now! You’re the--”

“Shh,” she hissed quickly, interrupting him. 

His face fell. “Oh, I’m sorry, are you not--”

“I am,” she said. “Just...I don’t go by that title at the moment.”

“Oh, I see,” he smiled. “Well, I just wanted to thank you again. You and your dra--”

“Shush!” she was seconds away from sprinting in the opposite direction. “My name is Kaida. I’m a refugee, just like you.”

It finally seemed like something clicked in his mind. His brow furrowed for a moment as he processed the information. Why was this firebender running from her own country and hiding in Ba Sing Se? He knew her to be helpful and kind, albeit a bit grumpy, and he knew the avatar trusted her. He never suspected for a moment that she could be up to anything dubious, instead mentally shrugging. It wasn’t his place to question her, not when he knew what the Fire Nation was capable of. Who’s to say they weren’t treating their own people terribly, too?

“Oh, of course. Well, thank you. Thanks to you and your friends, my wife and I are safe and sound...and our little Hope, of course.”

Yzako smiled a little. “It was nothing. Seriously.”

“Than?” Ying called from the door, still watching her husband. “Who’s that?”

“Ying, it’s--it’s Kaida!” Than yelled, turning to face her. “Remember? From the pass!”

“Oh!” she stepped back, opening the door wider. “Come in, if you have a moment! Hon, you can be a few minutes late, can’t you? We should have some tea!”

Yzako sighed. Was she really about to get caught up with these people again?

“Tea?” she asked, her lips moving of their own accord. “Let me show you the best tea shop in the entire city.”

Yes, she was.

Several minutes later, she was grinning at the sight of Zuko’s confused face as she led Than and Ying into Mr. Pao’s tea house. It was relatively quiet, a few tables already occupied as Yzako and her guests sat down together.

“This is lovely!” Ying commented, looking around as she cradled Hope in her arms. 

“I’m surprised you haven’t been here yet. It’s the talk of the lower ring.” Yzako said.

“Kaida!” Mr. Pao greeted, coming around with a steaming teapot. “And lovely guests, of course. Welcome to my tea shop. Any friend of Kaida’s is a friend of Pao’s.”

Than was positively beaming. “Thank you, sir.”

Mr. Pao bowed his head. “Take a moment to peruse our new menu. Lee will be with you shortly.”

He left to check on other tables, leaving Yzako with her unlikely companions. She could hear Kul purring at the sight of their baby, and she was positive that if the room were bigger, he would have taken his physical form to play with her. 

“You know the owner?” Than asked, pulling her from her little internal discussion with her dragon.

“Yes,” she answered quickly. “I’m a regular here.”

Spirits, why had she brought them to the shop? She was beginning to realize that she has trapped herself there with them. Was it Kul tugging her along while he cooed and purred over the baby, or had she done this on her own? She had no idea, and when Zuko approached her with a small smile on her face, she didn’t really care about how or why she had entered the tea house. All she wanted was to see him, if even for a few minutes.

“You look lovely today,” he greeted her with a peck on the cheek when Mr. Pao wasn’t looking. His employer was generally a kind man, but he expected some level of professionalism out of his server, even when his girlfriend and her odd friends were around and spending more money than the rest of their customers combined. “You want your usual?”

“Yeah,” she said with a little sigh.

“What’s good here?” Ying asked. 

Zuko looked up at her in alarm, as if he hadn’t even noticed Yzako’s guests. “My uncle makes our signature pearl milk tea. He’s not in today, but Mr. Pao’s is still pretty good…”

“That sounds lovely,” Than smiled. 

Zuko bowed and left before he had a chance to embarrass himself in front of these strangers. They were vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recall having run into any young families in the past several weeks--oh. He had, hadn’t he? But there was no way they were the people he briefly considered stealing from during his brief time away from his uncle, right? Oh, spirits, what if they were? They definitely didn’t recognize him, right? They hadn’t even seen him that day as he rode past with the ostrich horse. Still...he was anxious at the idea of them knowing he had almost taken all their food while on the road.

In Zuko’s absence, Yzako was left to face a million questions from the refugees, everything from “Oooh, who’s that boy?” To “So you know the owner?” To “Are you all refugees?” And finally the dreaded “Can you hold Hope for a second?”

Yzako had no idea how to hold a baby, but before she could protest, Ying was pushing the infant into her arms. What did she look like to them, a wetnurse? She had half a mind to shove Hope back towards her mother, but at the sight of Ying’s relaxed and grateful expression, she couldn’t find it in her heart. Besides...Kul was ecstatic. 

When Zuko came back with their tea and beheld the amazing sight of Yzako holding an entire baby, he was shocked. He knew she had the ability to be gentle, but actually beholding the Golden Dragon cradling a sleeping infant was something he certainly hadn’t been expecting. He could hear the faintest hint of Kul’s unearthly purring and smiled to himself, remembering the conversation he and Yzako had had on their first day back together in Ba Sing Se. Was this the baby she had helped deliver? The parents seemed totally at ease with the dragon-eyed girl holding their child, and as he took in Yzako’s grouchy, yet soft expression, he knew he would need to tease her about it later. 

Tea passed pleasantly, Yzako paying for the three of them before walking outside with Than and Ying. She handed Hope back to her mother and said goodbye, Kul crooning sadly as they left. Yzako rolled her eyes at him, turning around just in time to see Zuko standing in the door. 

“They were...nice,” he said, a little grin on his face. 

“Oh, don’t you start,” she grumbled, stepping up to give him a kiss. “Than recognized me in the street. I couldn’t be rude. And besides, Kul would have screamed at me if I didn’t let him see the baby.”

Zuko laughed, pulling her into a quick hug. “I have to get back to work. I just wanted to tell you that you’re beautiful again.”

Yzako smiled as she pulled back to look at him. “You’re the sweetest boy, sometimes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Only sometimes?”

“Definitely.” she turned to leave, looking over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at home later?”

He watched her go with a lovestruck look on his face. “Yeah.”

Yzako bounced into the crowd, mood improved, ready to find something else to do with her time. The shadows were getting long as the afternoon passed, but all she managed was a fair amount of wandering. Min and the girls were still busy, and she was too conspicuous in her nice clothes to get much stealing done, so she just...lurked. She watched people walk by, boredly sitting on a pile of crates outside a store. From her spot, she could see the outer wall and the gate the soldiers opened and closed for the farmers who tended the land just outside of it. There was nothing very interesting out in the fields surrounding Ba Sing Se, so she had never bothered trying to go check them out, but today she just might be bored enough to try.

Yzako stood, making her way down the road. The farms were the one place she hadn’t seen yet, and they would be better than sitting around with nothing to do for the next few hours. 

“Hey! Watch out!” a voice suddenly drew her away from her thoughts. She looked up to see a horde of beasts approaching, running down the street as they chased something. At their head, riding on a ball of air, was, of course, the avatar. 

“Hey, Kaida!” he greeted happily. 

She could only stand and stare. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Making a new zoo! Come on!” without giving her a moment to even think about jumping out of the way, he grabbed her arm, pulling her along on his air scooter. 

“This is insane!” she screamed over the wind. 

“Isn’t it fun?” he laughed loudly. 

Yzako wanted to answer sarcastically, but the terror of being whisked along and the quickly-approaching outer wall kept her silent. Her eyes were blurry, but she could make out the shapes of the soldiers stationed along the wall as they hurriedly began opening the gate, bending the bricks apart just in time for Aang and his huge pack of zoo animals to burst through. 

He dropped Yzako on the ground as he continued on his way, earthbending big, spacious enclosures for the beasts, giving them the terrain they would enjoy and even bringing water up from the ground so that they could have fresh pools. When he was done, he stood with his hands on his hips, looking at his work proudly. 

“What just happened?” Yzako asked, dusting herself off as she came to stand next to him. 

He turned to her with a smile. “This zookeeper told me nobody wanted to come see the animals. I figured everyone would be happier if they had nicer facilities, so I led them all here. What do you think?”

She looked around. “Well, I never went to see the old zoo, but….”

“Excellent job, avatar!” the zookeeper said, running up to them. “You should think about working with animals for a living.”

Aang just grinned widely. 

“How’d you do that, anyways?” Yzako asked as the two of them began walking through the new zoo. 

“Oh, I used my bison whistle!” he pulled a small white whistle out of his shirt. “It works on most animals. I’ve...been using it to look for Appa.”

Yzako frowned. “He’s missing?”

Aang sighed. “Yeah. Someone stole him while we were crossing the desert. We came to Ba Sing Se to meet with the Earth King, and to look for him.”

Yzako could see how defeated he looked. “Hey, I’m sure he’s okay. Appa is tough, right?”

“Yeah, he is...but I should have been there for him.”

“Well...all the exotic animal dealers are in the lower ring. I’ll keep an eye out and tell you if I spot anything.” 

“Really? You’ll help us?” his face lit up and he lunged forward to pull her into a hug. “I knew you were a good person!”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t spread it around.” she said, trying to pry him off.

He finally stood back, smiling at her. “Thank you, Yza--Kaida. You look really pretty today, too!”

“What, I’m not always pretty?” she huffed. “...But thanks.”

“Anytime!”

After a short trip around the zoo, the two parted ways, saying their goodbyes. The sun was beginning to set and Yzako was eager to get home and see Iroh and Zuko, but as she approached the gate on the outermost wall, she noticed a lone figure sitting under a tree. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she tried to focus on it, and after a moment she realized it was Iroh. 

She started towards him, happy to see him, even if he was out in the middle of a field. What was he doing there? Is this where he had spent his entire day? Sitting out in the grass, all alone?

“Mushi!” she called, barely catching herself before she blurted out his real name. 

He looked up at the sound, but didn’t call back or move to stand; in fact, she could barely tell that he noticed her, not even receiving a wave. Yzako frowned, but continued on. It wasn’t like him. Iroh was always extremely polite, even when his life was in danger. She expected this kind of thing from Zuko, but not his uncle. 

“What are you doing out here?” she asked, lowering her voice as she got closer. “I thought you said it was someone’s birthday--”

She fell silent at the sight of tears on the old man’s face. 

Before him, leaning on a few rocks at the base of the tree, was an illustration of a young man. It rested atop a small piece of cloth, a few fruits and some sticks of incense surrounding it. Iroh himself remained quiet, closing his eyes slowly as he faced the portrait. Realization dawned on Yzako and she sank to her knees near Iroh, unbelievably ashamed of the way she had interrupted him.

He was mourning. 

Should she ask for forgiveness? Should she bow until her nose was buried in the dirt and hope that he wasn’t angry with her? She had never seen Iroh so quiet, but now, as he cracked his eyes open once more to look at the bright young man on the parchment, he wasn’t saying a word. 

“I’m sorry,” she managed to choke out, bowing in the way Ozai had trained her to. She was waiting to hear the yelling of an angry man, bracing herself for the reprimands that should come next. She had been stupid and clumsy, yelling across the fields when Iroh was clearly trying to have a peaceful afternoon to himself, and she deserved whatever punishment he saw fit. 

But none came. 

“I am happy to see you, Yzako,” he finally said, smiling sadly. 

She peeked up at him, surprised to hear him using her real name instead of Kaida. “Huh?”

“Please, sit with me.”

She straightened up, sitting next to him in a way that reminded her of their days on Zuko’s ship several months ago. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I can go….”

He chuckled quietly, not bothering to wipe away his tears as they continued to fall. “No, no. I would prefer you stayed. Sharing one’s memories is one of the best ways to honor the legacy of those who have passed on.”

Yzako nodded, still feeling awkward, as if she had walked in on something she wasn’t supposed to see. 

“Did I ever tell you of my son, Lu Ten?” Iroh asked. 

The guilty feeling was just settling heavier and heavier in her gut as she shook her head. She couldn’t believe that she had come running along into such a serious and intimate setting so callously. “No, I don’t think so.” 

Iroh smiled once more. “He is several years older than Prince Zuko. As crown prince, he was an officer in the army, and he was present when I laid siege to Ba Sing Se for 600 long days.”

Yzako dared to look at the portrait of Lu Ten, finally reading the characters written next to his image. 

“General Iroh, I will see you again when victory is obtained. Your loving son, Lu Ten.”

She wanted to cry. 

“Today is his birthday,” Iroh said sadly, gazing at the picture. 

“What…” Yzako swallowed past the lump in her throat. “What happened?”

Iroh was silent, and for a moment she thought that maybe she should go...but just as she was about to try to stand, he finally spoke up. 

“He fell in battle.” Uncle Iroh squeezed his eyes shut, hands balled into fists in his lap. “I could not be there for him. Perhaps, if I was, we would be celebrating his birthday in a different manner today.”

Yzako was quiet. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to respond to grief; she never had to deal with it very much during the course of her sheltered life. Happiness, she understood. Boiling, bubbling rage, she could handle. But the mourning of a loved one--of a child, no less--was something she wasn’t familiar with. Iroh’s sadness was palpable, though, something she could practically see and touch for herself despite never having met Lu Ten. At the sight of how much his father loved him, she wished she had seen him, if even just for a moment on that day she had visited the palace when Ozai was crowned Fire Lord. 

Somehow, she knew that Iroh needed a shoulder to lean on. The entire time she had known him, he was always the guiding spirit, the person who helped both Zuko and herself when they were in need of guidance...but today, he deserved the break. She reached for his hand, spreading his fingers out with her own so that she could lace them together tightly. Giving a squeeze, Yzako smiled at him, bumping into his side and leaning her head on his shoulder. 

He looked at her with teary eyes, a bit taken aback, but ever grateful at the gesture. Iroh knew that Yzako was strong, as she had shown immense fortitude time and time again. He also knew that she was compassionate, noticing the way she liked to pay for her friends when they visited the tea shop and how she tossed generous amounts of coins to beggars in the streets of the lower ring whenever she passed. The Golden Dragon was a confused and conflicted young woman, to be certain, but Iroh knew that at her core, she had a benevolent and righteous spirit, one capable of offering immense comfort as well as extreme destruction. 

“Tell me about him,” she said, smiling. She didn’t really know what she was doing, letting her instincts and Kul’s spirit guide her. The dragon was humming, annoyed that he couldn’t take up his physical form and curl around the two firebenders, but at the feeling of his mere presence, Iroh sighed gratefully. 

“Lu Ten was a bright boy. He was my world.” Iroh closed his eyes, another tear slipping down his cheek. “On her deathbed, I promised his mother that I would look after him.”

“Who was she?” Yzako asked. 

Iroh paused for a moment, then broke out into laughter. “She was a royal consort. Her name was Usuzi.”

Yzako grinned at him. “I thought the royal family preferred arranged marriages...you sly dog, Iroh. Is this why you like Min so much?”

“I like Min because she is a wonderful woman and a kind soul,” Iroh chuckled. “Though, I may be predisposed to appreciate her profession. When I left the Fire Nation with Prince Zuko, Fire Lord Ozai had all but banished the palace concubines, caring little for them. In the time of our father’s reign, though, the tradition was upheld, even as the fire sages arranged Ozai and Ursa’s marriage...and I suppose I fell in love.”

Yzako was listening to him closely, her eyes wide. “You fell in love with a concubine?”

“Yes, I did,” he smiled down at her, raising his free hand to stroke her hair in a loving, fatherly way that she hadn’t experienced since she was a small child. “She was beautiful. I planned to court her properly, but she insisted that I focus on my military career. Usuzi was a clever and determined woman, always thinking of the future...and when she told me she was with child, we were both terrified. Over the moon with happiness, but terrified.”

Yzako snorted. “I can’t imagine you terrified by anything, Iroh.”

“You have seen me terrified!” he laughed. “Though I suppose these days, I am most scared of a bad cup of tea.”

Yzako looked up at him. “What happened to Usuzi?”

His laughter faded into a sad smile. “Her labor with Lu Ten was...difficult. I was called back from the front line in the Earth Kingdom to arrive just in time to see it. She lived to hold our son, but...she faded quickly.”

Yzako frowned. After having experienced Ying’s labor, she understood how scary it could be, and that had gone smoothly and without complications. “I...recently helped with a birthing.” she laughed a little as she realized she hadn’t told Iroh about her experience. “When I was...well, when I was still a little...confused, I guess, Azula sent me to patrol the lake, and Kul spotted a party crossing over the Serpent’s Pass.” she paused, chewing at her lip a bit as she thought about it. “The avatar and his friends were crossing with a pregnant family. I guess...well, I guess Kul and I scared the mother into labor and then Katara made me help.”

Iroh was surprised. He didn’t take Yzako for the type of person to assist with childbirth...but then again, she had impressed him over and over. “The miracle of life often has a way of taking us by surprise.”

She shrugged. “I guess so.”

“I arrived at the palace just as Lu Ten was born. When I stepped into the room, his cry was the first sound I heard.” Iroh smiled at the memory. “He was so small and fragile, I could hold him in my hands...I knew I must do whatever I had to in order to keep him safe.” his face fell sadly and he closed his eyes. “Though I could not protect him when he needed me most.”

Yzako picked her head up. “You said he fell in battle. He loved his country, and he died serving it.”

Iroh sighed again. “He should not have been fighting. Looking back, none of us should have been. When I was a younger, different man, I could not see it, but...now I understand.” he looked down at Lu Ten’s picture. “War only leaves heartbreak behind.”  
Yzako frowned. She knew that lives were lost in battle, but she had never spoken to someone who lost a loved one to the war. “He loved you, Iroh.”

The old man looked at her. “I wish I had spent more time with him. After Lu Ten’s death, my brother used my grief to take the throne, and I was left alone with my thoughts. I tried to reach him in the spirit world, but...he was not there.”  
“That just means he’s at peace,” Yzako smiled as best she could, giving his hand another squeeze. “He knew you loved him. Wouldn’t you tell me that that’s what matters most?”

The old general looked at her for a long time. This wasn’t the same girl he had met at Admiral Zhao’s harbor, and she wasn’t the same girl he had been forced to injure while she pursued Prince Zuko. Yzako had grown during their time in Ba Sing Se, her experiences in the lower ring moulding her into a more refined version of herself. He had never thought that she would be the one consoling him, and yet there she was, her head on his shoulder, her hand holding his tightly. It made the pain in his chest fade slightly, easing his grief.

“It is what matters most,” he smiled. “Thank you, Golden Dragon. I am happy to share this day with you.”

Yzako beamed up at him happily. “Tell me something Lu Ten liked.”

“There was a lullaby I would sing for him….”

“Sing for me, Uncle.”

At the title of Uncle, Iroh felt his heart soar. Just as he had come to consider Zuko his son, he cared for Yzako as his own family, seeing her as an unruly daughter in law for the past few months. He gave her hand a squeeze, finally returning the energy she had given him as he began to sing. 

“Leaves from the vine,  
Falling so slow,  
Like fragile, tiny shells,   
Drifting in the foam.   
Little soldier boy  
Comes marching home,  
Brave soldier boy  
Comes marching home.”

Yzako closed her eyes, smiling as Kul hummed. When Iroh was finished, they spent a bit more time with Lu Ten, the air around them sparking with energy as if his spirit was there with them. As the sun dipped below the horizon, Iroh stood, packing everything up before walking back to the lower ringt, arm in arm with Yzako. 

“Where have you two been?” Zuko asked as they walked into the apartment. 

Yzako was ready to snap at him, puffing herself up in anticipation for a fight, but she deflated again when she saw that he had taken it upon himself to cook dinner. “We were--”

“We were honoring a loved one,” Iroh smiled, setting his picnic basket down. “What are you cooking, nephew?”

Zuko stared at his uncle, caught off guard. He composed himself and then cleared his throat. “Meat dumplings. I couldn’t find komodo rhino sausage, but….”

Yzako looked between him and Iroh in confusion as Iroh smiled warmly. 

“I did not know you remembered, nephew,” he said, sitting down at the table. 

“Of course I did,” Zuko scoffed. “I...I wouldn’t forget Cousin Lu Ten’s favorite meal.”

Yzako wanted to cry, but she held it in, joining Zuko in the kitchen to help with whatever he needed. Together, they finished dinner, and while their dumplings weren’t as nice as those served in the Fire Nation palace, they were just as delicious, if not more. The three of them spent the night conversing and laughing, enjoying each other’s company until they all grew tired, retiring to their beds with warm bellies and smiling faces.


	49. Appa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy with so much positive feedback on the last chapter! It was so much fun to write, and I definitely cried a ton in the process. After such a bittersweet ending, I wanted to start this one out with some more lighthearted nonsense...so enjoy! 
> 
> Also, sorry that my updates have slowed slightly! I was really getting in the groove with those super fast daily chapters, but I got a little behind...not that every other day is very bad lol.

“So what happened?” Fen asked, eyes wide. 

“Yeah, you can’t just leave out all the juicy details!” Chun whined. 

“You guys really wanna know?” Yzako peered at them over her teacup. 

“Yes!” Min demanded. “Spill!”

“I dunno, Zhang hasn’t said anything. I feel like if the whole gang isn’t into it, it’s not worth telling….”

“Don’t you dare cut us off now,” Zhang said from behind her sleeve, eyes narrowed. 

Yzako grinned. “Okay, fine. You really wanna know what he’s packing?”

“Yes!” the girls said together, desperate for answers. Yzako--or Kaida--had been teasing them all afternoon, avoiding answering their questions whenever they pestered her about Lee. She danced around the topic, changing the subject quickly, but they were finally sick of it, putting their collective foot down to get some answers. They all knew that the two were together--in fact, the entire lower ring knew at this point--but Kaida refused to spill the beans about the details of what had to be a good sex life. 

Yzako was amused by them. She had never had a group of female friends like this. When she was sailing around the world with Zuko, none of the crew ever dared speak so openly about her relationship in front of her. 

She lowered her voice, leaning in. When they all mimicked her, she grinned. “Think of the most divine, incredible sex you’ve ever had.”

“Uh huh,” they nodded excitedly.

“And then multiply it by ten.”

“No way!” Fen squealed. 

“Tell us more,” Chun demanded. 

“Okay, okay.” she glanced around, as if it were a huge secret. “You know how he’s always angry?”

“He’s a grump,” Min rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, well, he’s not like that in bed. Not at all. Except...last week, when we had our first day to ourselves in a long time, he just pinned me down and went for it.”

“What!” Chun practically shrieked, picking her head up and looking straight at Lee. “Nuh uh! Seriously?”

“Quiet down!” Yzako hissed, pulling her back and resisting the urge to laugh. “Look, I’m only telling you guys because you kept bugging me. But Lee is an absolute monster in bed when he wants to be.”

Min peeked up at him as he served a table across the shop from them. “Yeah, I can see it.”

“Can you really?” Fen asked skeptically.

“I can!” she argued. “Look at him! You can tell he’s well built, and he carries himself like a pompous asshole sometimes. Plus, he beats people up with Kaida, and he fought Jet off that one night. He’s a total badass when he wants to be, and I bet it comes out in the bedroom.”

“Yep,” Yzako sat back, a smug look on her face. 

“What are you talking about?” Zuko’s angry voice nearly made her jump out of her skin.

“How did you get over here so fast?” she shrieked in alarm. 

“What can I say,” he leaned in, breathing in her ear. “I’m a total badass when I want to be.”

Yzako’s face burned red as she glared at Min. “Look what you’ve done. You gave him a huge ego.”

“I bet that’s not the only thing that’s huge,” Zhang said, speaking up again finally. 

It was Zuko’s turn to blush. “Well, I--”

“I bet she’s right,” Fen winked at him. “You must satisfy Kaida sooo well.”

“I, uh, I do my best--”

“Tell us, Kaida! How is it?” Chun wiggled her eyebrows. 

Yzako snorted a laugh, trying to hide her own embarrassment. “It’s fantastic, thanks.”

Fen rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that to make him happy.”

“I am not!”

“Oh yeah? Then give us details!”

“No way!” she snapped. 

Despite his burning face, Zuko shook his head and chuckled. These girls were something else entirely. They were annoying and often moments away from overstepping their boundaries, but they were nearly family at that point. Maybe, if their circumstances were different, Min and the others would be joining them for dinner at home a few nights a week...but they had to work, and the apartment was too small to comfortably host a party anyways. 

“See that man?” he nodded towards a finely dressed individual sitting in the corner. 

“Yeah, what about him?” Yzako grumbled. 

“That’s Mr. Quon.”

“So?”

“So look at the quality of his robes!” Min piped up. 

“Oh, he’s got money, for sure,” Fen nodded. 

“What’s he doing here, though?” Chun wondered. 

Zuko shrugged. “I don’t know. He ordered some jasmine a while ago and he’s been talking with his entourage ever since.”

“Look at you,” Yzako sat back, impressed with her boyfriend. “Passing intel over to us like a regular spy.”

Zuko glared at her. “I am not--”

“Excuse me!” he was cut off by the sound of Quon’s voice as he stood and addressed Iroh at the back of the shop. “So you’re the genius behind the incredible brew. The whole city is buzzing about you! I hope Pao pays you well.” he smirked, raising his cup to his lips. 

“Good tea is its own reward,” Iroh smiled. 

“But it doesn’t have to be the only reward,” Quon said. “How would you like to have your own tea shop?”

Iroh gasped. “My...my own tea shop? This is a dream come true!”

Behind him, Mr. Pao suddenly perked up. He had been serving a table, but at the sound of Quon’s words, he rushed forward. “What’s going on here? Are you trying to poach my tea maker?”

“Sorry, Pao, but that’s business for you, am I right?” Quon smiled slyly. 

“Mushi, if you stay, I’ll--I’ll make you assistant manager!” Pao turned to Iroh. “Wait, senior assistant manager!”

“I’ll provide you with an apartment in the upper ring,” Quon smirked. 

Yzako shared a look with the girls. Living in the upper ring? That came with a lot of benefits. 

“The tea shop is yours to do whatever you want with. Complete creative freedom.” Quon continued. 

“I even get to name the shop?” Iroh asked. 

“Of course!”

“Uh...senior executive assistant manager?” Pao offered, still trying desperately to keep him around. 

Iroh glanced at Yzako and she gave him a pleading look. A new apartment would no doubt mean more space, and more than one bedroom. He smiled, handing his teapot to Pao before bowing to Quon. Yzako was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, but when she looked at Zuko, she saw that he was rolling his eyes. 

“Did you hear that, nephew?” Iroh asked him. “Our own tea shop, in the upper ring of the city!”

“Your life is about to take a turn for the better, young man,” Quon said. 

Zuko snorted angrily, and Yzako could tell that he was getting into one of his bad moods. “I’ll try to contain my excitement.”

When he headed for the door to take a break, she ran after him, leaving the girls to chatter amongst themselves. They were just as excited as she was, knowing full well that they were about to spend as much time as they possibly could in the upper ring now that their friend would be moving there. 

“Hey,” Yzako said, stepping outside. 

Zuko was holding a flyer in his hands, staring down at it. When he didn’t respond to her, she huffed, knocking her shoulder into his as she tried to get a look at it. 

“What are you--” her face fell when she realized that she was staring at an illustration of the avatar’s missing bison. 

“He’s here,” he said, his good eye widening slightly as he looked at the sky. 

Yzako stayed silent. Should she try to get him to calm down? Should she bother telling him that she knew the avatar was in the city? No, that wouldn’t go well at all. She had kept it a secret in the first place because she knew Zuko would go crazy if he found out. 

“Hey,” she said again, putting a hand on his arm. 

He whipped around to look at her, his face angrier than she had seen in weeks. It was like looking at the old Zuko aboard his ship, back before any of this had happened. 

“What are you gonna do about it?” She challenged, jutting her chin out. “Even if he’s here looking for his bison, what can you possibly do?”

“I don’t know,” he growled, crumpling the flyer in his hand. “But I’ll figure something out.”

—

Zuko spent the rest of the day quiet and angry. He had nearly let go of his dream to capture the avatar, but now...he wasn’t sure if he was ready to give up yet. Yzako and the girls spent a while gossiping loudly while he and Iroh finished up their last shifts with Mr. Pao, and when the shop closed, Zuko hardly even glanced back at the small tea house. Good riddance, he thought. The place was a dump anyways.

“So, I’ve been thinking about names for my new tea shop,” Iroh said as they arrived home that evening. “How about the Jasmine Dragon?”

Yzako squealed with happiness, running to hug him. “Seriously?”

“Of course!” He laughed, catching her in a hug. “You have always been one of my finest customers, after all! Plus, it’s poetic, dramatic, has a nice ring to it…”

Zuko finally couldn’t contain himself any longer and pulled the flyer out of his pocket. “The avatar is here in Ba Sing Se.”

Both Iroh and Yzako looked at him, their celebration interrupted. Iroh took the paper from his nephew, gazing at it for a moment before putting it down on the table. 

“We have a chance at a new life here,” he said. “If you go stirring up trouble, we could lose all the good things that are happening for us.”

Zuko was steaming. “Good things that are happening for you! Have you ever thought that maybe I want more from life than a nice apartment and a job serving tea?”

“There is nothing wrong with a life of peace and prosperity,” Iroh argued. “I suggest you think about what it is you want from life, and why.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. “I want my destiny.”

“What that means is up to you.”

The prince glared at his uncle for a long moment before retreating to his bed, laying down as angrily as possible. Yzako watched the exchange sadly, fully aware that Zuko was probably going to try to do something stupid. 

When he stayed put for the rest of the evening, even refusing dinner, she knew something was definitely wrong. Zuko hadn’t acted like this in a long time, but now it was as if they were back on the ship chasing the avatar to the North Pole. It almost felt like the past several weeks hadn’t happened, and when Yzako climbed into bed, she found him still awake and staring at the ceiling.

“Hey,” she nudged him as she laid down next to him. 

He didn’t even glance at her. He seemed determined to brood, no matter what. 

Yzako frowned and tried to snuggle up next to him. His arms were stretched up behind his head, leaning his chest open, and when she put an arm around his waist and tightened her vice-like grip, he finally sighed. 

“What?”

“You can’t seriously be thinking about going after him again.”

“Why not?” He hissed. 

“Zuko….”

“What?” he snapped. “If you have something to say to me, just say it. Stop beating around the bush like this, I hate it.”

Yzako snorted angrily. “Why can’t you just be happy with our life here? One day you’re acting perfectly content with this situation, the next you’re right back to trying to go after the avatar.”

Zuko set his jaw, clenching his teeth together while he stared at the ceiling. 

“We have friends here. You have a job, and Iroh is even getting his own tea shop. Why do you want to push all of that away again?”

“No, you have friends here.” he snarled, sitting up suddenly to glare down at her. “I want to chase my destiny. I know what I’m supposed to do. Do you?”

Yzako blinked up at him. She hadn’t expected that kind of response. “I….”

“Come with me tonight. Let’s go find him.”

Now Yzako was even more surprised. “Excuse me? Did you not listen to a word I just said?”

“The avatar thinks his bison is somewhere in this city. Where would they be able to hide a massive beast like that?”

“Who exactly do you think has him?” she asked suspiciously. She couldn’t lie; she had been itching for some action after spending so much time just lazing around Ba Sing Se. If there was one thing Zuko knew how to do, it was getting her interested in something.

“Don’t try to tell me you haven’t noticed it.”

“...Noticed what?”

“Jet hasn’t come back since the Dai Li took him.” Zuko narrowed his eyes. “They have to have some kind of building where they can keep anyone who causes too much of a stir here.”

A chill ran down Yzako’s spine. “So how do you propose we find it?”

The faintest hint of a smile ghosted its way across Zuko’s lips. “They’ll take us there themselves.”

\----

“Stay put,” Zuko growled. 

Yzako obeyed, crouching down on the rooftop as she watched him jump into the street below. Her vision was obscured by the mask on her face, her peripherals gone as she was forced to look through the two small eye holes carved into it. The lack of freedom annoyed her, especially since she knew she couldn’t use any firebending if she got into a fight. Zuko was a swordmaster, but Yzako barely had any idea how to defend herself without bending. 

“Use these,” he had whispered to her as they robbed a store earlier that night. 

“What are they?” she had asked, catching the hand claws he tossed to her. They consisted of a few thick leather straps, savage, curved metal claws jutting out of the palm and back. 

“Shuko.” he had explained as he helped her strap them on. “Just use your bending movements. Without the bending.”

Yzako had been left with no choice but to nod and follow him out again. Now, dressed in all black like Zuko, and with a black and gold dragon mask on her face to complement his blue and white one, she was peering over the edge of a rooftop while the Blue Spirit attracted the attention of a Dai Li agent. She had to admit, she was having the time of her life; finally getting to stretch her legs for some much needed life-threatening exercise was exactly what she needed after spending all day sitting in the tea shop. 

Zuko did a lap around the block, coming up behind the man and knocking his shoulder into him. 

“Outta my way, skinny!”

The Dai Li agent snarled at the insolence and took off after the bandit, following him into the alley that Yzako was looking down on. At the sight of a Blue Spirit dummy, the earthbender sent one of his stone gloves out, expecting to apprehend the rabble rouser and continue on with his night. It punched through the chest, followed quickly by a second glove aimed at the head. When the dummy exploded into straw, the Dai Li agent stared in shock, and all Yzako could do was chuckle darkly at him. This was the skill level of Ba Sing Se’s secret force? How embarrassing. 

She jumped down, landing on his back and knocking him to the ground with perfect timing. Before he had a chance to react, she yanked him up again, holding both of his hands behind his back and grinning behind her mask. He had disarmed himself for them without either assailant receiving so much as a scratch. 

“If you don’t wanna end up like him, you’ll do what I say.” Zuko hissed, appearing next to Yzako. He pressed a blade against their victim’s throat, hard enough to barely draw blood. “Tell us where your secret facility is. Now.”

“No,” the Dai Li agent spat. 

“You’re outnumbered. I suggest you think about your future and how quickly it’s about to end.” Yzako said lowly, taking a page out of Azula’s book as she tried to get under his skin. She knew half of the princess’s influence over people came from the way she carried herself and spoke, and when she felt the man stiffen in fear, she silently thanked Zuko’s sister for having such a cold and cruel demeanor. “Whatever aspirations you had for your life are going to be snuffed out due to your own inaction. I don’t have all night, and I’m already getting bored.”

Kul, who had been buzzing with excitement at the prospect of a fight, growled loudly enough for all three humans to hear him. The Dai Li agent began shaking at the primal sound, his terror growing more and more palpable the more scared he got.

“B-Ba Sing Se is built on top of an ancient city,” he blurted out. “The Dai Li use a series of hidden tunnels to operate.”

“Where’s the nearest entrance?” Zuko’s sword cut deeper into the man’s throat, another bead of blood dripping down. 

“Th-the sewer grate back in the street,” he pointed towards the alley entrance. “Please, I’m a new recruit, d-don’t kill me--”

A sword hilt slammed down on his head and he fell silent, slumping forward. Zuko and Yzako dragged him further into the alley, leaning him up against a wall so that he was more out of sight. Without a moment to waste, they took off into the street, prying up the heavy metal grate together before slipping down into the darkness. 

They walked in silence. Zuko was focused and Yzako was more than happy to let him take the lead, sneaking behind him as they tried to navigate the maze of dimly lit tunnels. At least the Dai Li agent had been telling the truth so far, and there were no signs of an ambush of any kind waiting for them. 

The walls and floor were all stone, and they allowed for the two bandits to hear the echoing footsteps of anyone approaching. While they snuck through the shadows, Yzako found herself wondering if Iroh had any idea that they were gone, or if he would be worried when he realized. She felt bad slipping out of the apartment without telling him, especially after things had felt so domestic for so long. Back on the ship, this kind of thing would have seemed more normal, but now...spirits, was she getting soft? Was that a bad thing? He talked so much about the value of a nice, humble life, maybe he was starting to get to her. 

“These rooms are all too small to hold a bison,” Zuko hissed, voice muffled behind his mask. 

“Then keep an eye out for a big door,” Yzako rolled her eyes. 

They had been walking for what felt like hours, searching the seemingly unending labyrinth with no luck. The longer they spent in the tunnels, the more on edge Yzako was feeling. No one had noticed them yet, and normally she would have expected that...but this was supposed to be a highly trained group of threatening agents who kept the most heavily guarded city in the world running smoothly. The only thing that she saw that was worth noting was a room full of women sitting in rows, repeating the same words over and over as if they were brainwashed. 

“I don’t like it down here,” she whispered as the familiar feeling of being watched crept up her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on edge, goosebumps prickling all over her skin. 

“Me neither. But look.” Zuko pointed to the end of the corridor with one of his swords. “That’s promising.”

Yzako followed him to a door, resisting the urge to cling to his arm for safety. She hated being surrounded by earth like this, the walls far too close together for her liking. It felt like she was suffocating, her chest tightening as she thought about how caged in they were. If they needed to fight their way out of something, she would be relying fully on close range attacks, and without the option to firebend...she wasn’t too keen on what her chances might be. 

They reached the door and Zuko felt for a latch on the side, finally finding one and pulling. It slid open slowly, rock grinding against rock, and when Yzako peered into the room, her eyes widened behind her mask. The avatar’s bison gave a low growl, standing up to reveal that all six of his huge legs were shackled to the floor. He looked at them in alarm, growling another warning as he tried to back up, but the chains wouldn’t allow him to get far and he was forced to stop and face them while he continued tugging at his restraints.

Yzako narrowed her eyes. She hated seeing chains on any living thing, much less something that was meant to fly free like a sky bison...or a dragon.

“What’s the matter?” Zuko asked, walking forward as he addressed the beast. “Not who you were expecting?” He raised his swords and Appa gave a bellow, snorting and pawing at the floor.

Yzako stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. “Be nice. He’s scared.”

Zuko ignored her, standing before the bison as he stomped and roared in his face. Would he even stand a chance if Appa decided to attack him? Sure, he was chained up, and he was a slow and lumbering beast, but he was still an airbender. Was Yzako about to have to explain to the avatar that his pet killed her boyfriend? Because that wasn’t a talk she was prepared to have anytime soon. 

“You’re mine,” Zuko said after a long moment of watching Appa. 

“Zuko, wait--”

Yzako was interrupted by the sound of the door behind her opening. She immediately jumped out of the way, stumbling back until she hit Zuko’s chest. Dammit, she could barely see in this mask, and she was completely off balance because of it! How did he manage to fight as the Blue Spirit? This was absolutely impossible for her. 

Zuko pushed her behind him, raising his swords defensively. When he recognized their guest, however, he lowered them again. 

“Uncle?”

Yzako peeked out from around him to see that he was right. Iroh was closing the door as he joined them, standing with his hands in his sleeves as he faced the reckless youths who wouldn’t give him a moment to rest. 

“So, the Blue Spirit,” Iroh said. “I wonder who could be behind that mask….”

Zuko sighed angrily, pulling his mask off and straightening up. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just about to ask the both of you the same thing.” Iroh answered, looking pointedly at Yzako as she continued trying to hide. “You may as well reveal your face, too, Golden Dragon.”

Yzako almost let out a whimper. She felt like a dog being scolded for chewing on someone’s favorite pair of shoes. With her heart pounding and a heavy blanket of anxiety settling over her, she removed her mask, grateful for the fresh air and full vision, but missing the feeling of safety it had provided her with. She didn’t want Iroh to yell at them, no matter how ridiculous this little excursion was. 

“What are you going to do now that you’ve found the avatar’s bison?” Iroh asked, walking towards them. “Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?”

Zuko’s shoulders sagged as his uncle chastised him. “Well...first I have to get it out of here.”

“And then what?” Iroh asked loudly, voice raised in anger. “You never think these things through! This is exactly what happened when you captured the avatar at the north pole. You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!”

“I would have figured something out!” Zuko snapped. 

“No! If his friends hadn’t found you, you would have frozen to death!” Iroh yelled. 

“I know my own destiny, uncle!” Zuko snarled, looking away from him. 

“Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else had tried to force on you?”

“Stop it, uncle.” Zuko turned so that Iroh couldn’t see the anguish on his face. “I have to do this.”

“I’m begging you, Prince Zuko! It is time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions. Who are you? And what do YOU want?” 

Zuko’s teeth were bared in a snarl as he let out an angry yell, throwing his swords and mask down. They landed in a loud clatter and Yzako shrank back, hugging herself as she began shivering. No, it was more than a shiver…her entire body was shaking, her breaths quick. She tried to swallow it down, blinking quickly as she tried to shove the sudden spike of anxiety away. It was a feeling she wasn’t used to, something she didn’t know how to handle. It was entirely new, a horrible, foreign experience, and she had no idea what was causing it…

...Until Iroh looked at her, and she shrank back. 

His expression immediately softened, his arms falling to his sides as he took in the sight of her. She was terrified, quivering in fear in a way he had never seen her. When he moved towards her, she took a step back, preferring to hide closer to Appa than have either firebender come near her. 

“L-leave me alone,” she mumbled, hugging herself tighter as she backed up towards the bison. 

Zuko’s head whipped around to look at her, recognizing her behavior. It was just like the day he first saw her cry. She was trying to hide her weakness from them, shaking her head quickly as if that would make all of her tears suddenly disappear so she could act tough again. He wanted to go comfort her, but the look on her face was telling him not to take a single step closer. 

“Yzako…” Iroh said softly, frowning as he began to catch on. 

“I said leave me alone!” she snapped, a little defensive flame wisping from the side of her mouth. “J-just stop yelling…”

Iroh’s face fell even further. The last and only other time he had ever raised his voice around her had been the day he hurt her so badly she nearly ended up dying. He knew her well enough to be able to assume that she was remembering that now, associating his yells with the pain she felt on that day. 

“Yzako…” he said again, closing his eyes and looking to the side. “I am sorry.”

She shook her head, taking another step back. The walls were entirely too close together, just like they had been for hours, and her chest kept tightening more and more. When she felt something warm and wet on her back, she nearly jumped out of her skin, and when she realized that it was Appa’s tongue, she was even more scared. He only looked down at her with those big brown eyes, though, grumbling in a way not unlike Kul. The bison looked kind, and now that she was staring at his face, she could see how cute he was. Possibly against her better judgment, she reached a hand out, feeling his big nose and then his soft cheeks, and as her head cleared and she felt more grounded, she sighed. 

“Yzako,” Zuko said softly. 

Oh. That’s right. He and Iroh had just watched her have the worst anxiety attack of her life, hadn't they? She turned to look at him, her face red with embarrassment. She wanted to dig a hole and just lay in it until she died. 

“I’m okay,” she said, her voice smaller than she wanted it to be. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Im fine.”

When she caught sight of Iroh’s sad expression, she decided that maybe it was time to start digging that hole already. He looked horrified--not by her, but himself--but he didn’t try to come closer to her. He simply stood, looking at the floor instead of her face. It was somehow even worse than when he had been yelling at Zuko. 

The prince sighed. “Let’s...let’s just get him out of here.” He gestured to Appa. “He can fly out of this skylight.”

Appa rumbled happily and Zuko rolled his eyes. He didn’t want the bison getting the idea that they were friends, but he did want to get Yzako out of there and get back home. 

As Zuko and Iroh each took a sword and began breaking the shackles around Appa’s ankles, Yzako rubbed the big beast’s nose, smiling up at him. He seemed grateful for a gentle touch, letting out a huge sigh as she petted him. She could understand why the avatar liked him so much; he was big and scary, capable of doing tremendous damage, but he was also a gentle, peaceful beast who probably wanted nothing more than to relax with a huge pile of food.

“Aang is here looking for you,” she whispered to him as Zuko broke the final shackle. 

Appa seemed to perk up at her words. Yzako smiled and stepped back, hugging herself again as Appa took off into the air. He headed for the open hole in the ceiling, disappearing from sight as quickly as he could. 

“Come on,” Zuko sighed, holding a hand out to her. “Let’s go home.”


	50. Metamorphosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another short little chapter. I'm trying to drag my feet a little bit lmao

Zuko dragged his feet on their walk back. Yzako was holding his arm tightly, and as they neared home, she began to feel like she was supporting his entire weight. Maybe he was just tired...but that wasn’t like him. He was strong, and he could spend an entire night fighting without showing any signs of exhaustion. This had to be something more. 

“You did the right thing, letting the avatar’s bison go free.” Iroh said with a smile, opening the door to the apartment. 

“I--I don’t feel right,” Zuko rasped, stumbling in with Yzako’s help. 

“Are you okay?” she asked as he began swaying on his feet. 

When he collapsed, she had her answer. 

“Zuko!” Iroh ran forward as she laid him on the floor, doing her best to put him down gently. “We need to make him comfortable. Bedroll, pillow, now!”

Yzako nodded, too surprised to say anything. She grabbed all the bedding she could, laying it out next to Zuko before helping Iroh move him onto it. He was already beginning to sweat, his skin heating up as he laid unconscious. What was going on? He was acting fine not even an hour ago. As she slipped a pillow under his head, Yzako chewed at her lip. She wasn’t about to lose him, not like this. If Zuko ever died, he was either going down in a torrent of flames, or peacefully as a very, very old man. She was going to make sure of it. 

“Get some cold water,” Iroh said, placing his hand on Zuko’s forehead. 

Yzako got up again, grabbing a bucket and running to the well outside. The sun was high in the sky, the rest of the lower ring going about their days as if nothing was wrong. She watched them bitterly as she fetched fresh water, wishing that she could be one of them. Min and the others were probably wondering why they hadn’t seen her yet, and part of her almost wished that they were there to help...not that she even knew what was wrong. 

She ran back inside with a full bucket, slamming the door behind her before she set it down next to Iroh. 

“What’s happening?” she asked in a panic. She could barely stand to look down at Zuko as he laid there. 

Iroh shook his head. “His body and mind are struggling with the choice he has made. He must endure this change, however painful it is.”

“So what do we do?” 

“We can only make him as comfortable as possible.” Iroh dipped a rag into the bucket, wringing it out until it was only damp before placing it on his nephew’s forehead. “Other than that...we must wait.”

Yzako sighed, sitting down. She hated feeling so helpless while her lover was suffering. 

“Yzako…” Iroh began, avoiding her eyes as he stroked Zuko’s hair. 

She perked up. “Hm?”

“I wish to apologize once more….”

Her cheeks burned. “No, please don’t. It’s fine.”

“No, it is not.” he squeezed his eyes shut. “I did not think of the effect my anger could have on you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not some weak little child you need to protect.”

“I have never viewed you as weak,” Iroh smiled at her sadly. “You have always been one of the strongest people I have met. I care for you greatly, and the thought of hurting you…” he looked away again as a tear slipped down his cheek. “I wish to never be the cause of your pain.”

“It’s fine.” she repeated. Her words came out harsher than she intended, and she sighed. “I just...I don’t want to admit it, but I’m scared. When I first came to live here, I was terrified of seeing you again because I thought you hated me.”

Iroh’s eyes widened in alarm. “No! I could never hate you. I believe that you and Prince Zuko are confused. You must both look within yourselves to find what is right. I wish to guide you both on your path, but I could never feel hatred for either of you.”

Yzako let out another sigh. Emotions were bubbling to the surface, threatening to consume her if she didn’t let them out. “When you raised your voice at Zuko, all I could think about was that day I tried to attack you. My ribs hurt, and I couldn’t breathe, and then I just kept thinking about the taste of blood, but it all happened so fast I didn’t know what was going on.” she wiped away a fresh tear as it rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know why I can’t let any of it go.”

“You do not need to until it is the right time,” Iroh reached across Zuko and took Yzako’s hand, patting it gently. “You will know when.”

“I’m so angry,” she sobbed, looking down. “And I always have been. The sages used to try to beat it out of me. Whenever I see chains or I hear whips all I can think about is all the pain and anger...and I feel so fucking weak.”

“Yzako,” Iroh said. “You are not weak.”

She looked up at him with a sniffle. 

“Time and time again you have shown incredible strength...even right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“It takes great bravery to admit that one is afraid, and to have compassion for others, especially after facing trial after trial.” Iroh smiled. “You are stronger than you know, Yzako. Do not forget that.”

She nodded and sniffled again, wiping at her face with her sleeve. She was still embarrassed, even more so now that she was breaking down. 

“You should rest,” Iroh said. “I will stay here with Prince Zuko.”

“But I want to stay--”

“The bed is just across the room,” he chuckled. “If anything happens, you will still be right here to watch over him.”

“No.” Yzako shook her head, her hand slipping out of his as she curled up on her side. “I want to stay right here. I’m not moving. Don’t try to make me.”

Iroh smiled to himself at the sight. He knew that even if he weren’t there, his nephew would be in good hands.

She had been determined to stay awake and keep an eye on things, some instinct inside of her demanding that she loom over Zuko and make sure he stayed warm and alive, but the moment her head hit the floor, she was asleep. 

Not much later, she was awoken by the feeling of cold water splashing her face. 

Yzako shot up, looking around for the source, angrily exhaling steam as she tried to figure out what was going on. When she realized that it was only from Zuko trying to drink out of the bucket, she laid down again. She was annoyed with him, but her happiness at the sight of him moving around overpowered her irritation. Maybe he was done sweating his fever out, and now they could continue on with their--

He suddenly pulled her up against him, coughs wracking his body before he fell asleep again. His bare chest was so hot that she could feel it through her shirt, his sweat already soaking her hair. 

Great.

Now she was worried and disgusting. 

Not daring to move, she laid there and accepted her fate, vaguely aware of Iroh pulling Zuko’s blanket over the two of them. Zuko’s skin alternated between burning and freezing, chills wracking his body as his fever just continued growing. Yzako was nowhere near comfortable being pressed up against him, but as the thought occurred to her that she could still move to their bed, she dismissed it. She wasn’t about to leave him on the floor in such a state, even if Iroh was sitting nearby. 

As she dozed, Yzako found herself thinking about what the old man had said about looking within herself. How could she, when all she had inside was a twisted mess of emotions and a dead dragon? It felt impossible to find any kind of clarity, especially after experiencing a flare up of anxiety and then crying everywhere. 

As she tried to sort through it all, the one thought that kept popping into her head was of her desire to protect Zuko wherever he went. Bailong had told her that it was her job to defend the Fire Nation, both the place and the people...and hadn’t he also said something about protecting those she loved most? She could remember the way he pinpointed her feelings for Zuko, and back then, she had reacted angrily. Now, though, she knew the white dragon was right, and she wasn’t hiding it anymore. Her desire to make sure that Zuko was happy and healthy was stronger than ever, the pull she felt towards him increasing in strength with each passing day. He and Iroh were her family now, and as she tried to search within herself for some form of guidance, she knew that she was going to do whatever it took to keep them safe. 

Defending the Fire Nation, though...that wasn’t something she could do from Ba Sing Se, was it? She was beginning to rethink all the things she had talked with Zuko about. Could they actually live out their days there, when he was heir to the throne and she was bound to protect their homeland? How could she even do that, when the Fire Nation was waging a war that left countless lives uprooted? For the first time in her life, she was being forced to see what the rest of the world was like. After living in captivity for so long with only the knowledge the sages chose to give her, there was something shocking about seeing Ba Sing Se’s refugees. What was she supposed to do about it, though? Could she actually help these people while defending her own? 

She didn’t have any answers, and that frustrated her to no end. 

As Yzako slipped into an uneasy sleep, Zuko was dreaming. He could see his father’s throne room around him, a wall of flames burning in front of him. From the height at which he sat, he could tell that he was on the throne, looking out at dozens of Fire Nation troops as they stood waiting for his command. 

“It’s getting late,” Azula’s voice echoed as two dragons wound their way around him. “Are you planning to retire soon, My Lord?”

“I’m not tired,” he said, staring forward. 

“Relax, Fire Lord Zuko,” the blue dragon said in his ear. “Just let go. Give into it. Shut your eyes for a while.”

She was right...he was tired. His eyelids were heavy, closing of their own accord until a new voice made them snap open. 

“No, Fire Lord Zuko!” the red dragon said in his uncle’s voice. “Do not listen to the blue dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it’s too late!”

“Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko,” Azula hissed. 

In front of him, the silent, stiff soldiers were engulfed in a sea of white flames, their bodies burning quickly. A golden dragon twisted out of the darkness, its body turning in loops before its face came to rest in front of his. 

“Come with me, Fire Lord Zuko,” it said in Yzako’s voice. “We can set the world ablaze.”

His eyes widened at her words, but before he had a chance to make himself move, he was falling.

“Sleep,” the blue dragon hissed, appearing before him. “Just like mother!”

As he fell again, Zuko caught a glimpse of Ursa, her head turning just in time for him to recognize her. 

“Help me, Zuko!” she screamed. 

But he couldn’t. 

He just kept falling. 

When he woke, he was breathing hard, beads of sweat running down his face. He was in their apartment in Ba Sing Se, no sign of Azula or his mother or any dragons. Uncle Iroh was there, pouring some tea, and for a moment Zuko couldn't figure out if he was still dreaming. An intense heat at his side made him look down, and he saw Yzako curled up, still sleeping. Her clothing was soaked in his sweat, her steady breaths hot enough that they were steaming. 

“You should know that this is not a natural sickness,” Iroh said when he noticed that Zuko was awake. “But that should not stop you from enjoying some tea.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Zuko asked as his uncle raised a cup to his lips and made him drink.

“Your critical decision, what you did in those tunnels...it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body.”

“What’s that mean?” Zuko broke into a coughing fit, laying down around Yzako again. 

“You are going through a metamorphosis, my nephew.” Iroh said. “It will not be a pleasant experience. But when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful prince you were always meant to be.”

As Zuko disappeared into sleep once more, his uncle pressed another cold rag against his sweaty forehead, sighing deeply. At least his nephew had Yzako there. Her presence was bound to be some form of comfort, no matter how small. Closing his eyes, Iroh leaned back against the wall, eventually managing to get some rest for himself as Zuko slept peacefully. 

\---

She jolted awake at the sound of a yell. Yzako shot up, looking around wildly before her eyes settled on Zuko. He was sitting up, gasping as he tried to catch his breath. He looked like he was completely out of it, a hand feeling his scar while he stared forward and took in the room, but at least he looked like he was really awake. 

“Oh, thank the spirits,” she sighed, a hand pressed against her chest. “You practically gave me a heart attack. Do you know how worried I was when you passed out? I can’t believe you--”

She was cut off as he turned and pulled her into a hug. Zuko didn’t speak, holding her tightly instead, and Yzako couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world she would rather be in that moment. He was gross, covered in sweat, his skin clammy now that his fever had broken...but he was her home, and though she hadn’t realized much during her time thinking about herself and her destiny, she knew that she had to stick by his side. 

She was going to be there with him, no matter what.


	51. Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some shameless smut because I thought this was a cute idea!

The new apartment was like a dream. Mr. Quon had spared no expense, the wealthy merchant providing Iroh and his wards with a spacious two-level with fresh, soft tatami mats and countless decorations to make it feel like “home.” Zuko and Yzako had their own bedroom, complete with a large bed they could both actually fit on comfortably, and Iroh’s kitchen had all the counter space he could ever want. The view outside the windows was of Ba Sing Se’s upper ring, full of greenery and bright blue ponds, no buildings or clotheslines to obscure the sky. 

“Well?” Quon asked. “What do you think?”

“It’s—“

“It’s perfect!” Yzako interrupted Iroh, running by with a green silk blanket she had just snatched from one of the movers. 

Zuko watched her sprint up to their room with a bemused smile. She had spent the entire day grabbing little things and taking them up there, snatching pillows and sheets to add to what was already a perfectly fine bed. 

Quon chuckled. “Quite the spirited wife you have, Lee.”

Pink spread across Zuko’s cheeks. “We’re not—“

“Ah, waiting for a summer wedding?” Quon nodded. “Smart, though I’d recommend booking your venue soon. The upper ring is always full of weddings come June.”

At the sight of his nephew’s embarrassment, Iroh laughed. Perhaps he should rescue Zuko before he spontaneously combusted. “Thank you for your unending kindness, Mr. Quon. We are all immeasurably grateful for all you have done for us.”

Quon smiled, spreading his arms wide. “Of course! My new tea maker deserves the utmost comfort. In just two days, you’ll open your new shop, and see that no expense has been spared there, either. The Jasmine Dragon will be the talk of the upper ring in no time!”

Iroh bowed, nudging Zuko until he joined in. “I look forward to it, Mr. Quon.”

“Wonderful,” their benefactor returned the bow. “I’m afraid I must be going. Business to attend to and all that. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

As he left, Yzako came popping down the stairs, a small bonsai tree in her hands. 

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“This one didn’t feel right,” she said, placing it down and grabbing another one from their dinner table. 

“Where are you going with that? Hey!” He ran after her.

Iroh just laughed as he watched his nephew disappear up the stairs. They had all been in good spirits since Zuko woke back up from his fever, and the move was going smoothly. He was going to miss the charm of the lower ring, but he had to admit that Ba Sing Se’s most noble district was full of lovely gardens and food that made his mouth water. Now that they had the space, he could host guests, and Zuko and Yzako had a room of their own where they would be granted the privacy they deserved. 

Upstairs, Zuko was staring at said room in shock. Yzako had already completely rearranged it, and was currently pushing a table from one wall to another. 

“What are you doing?” Zuko asked.

“It feels better now, don’t you think?” She straightened up and surveyed her work. 

“It’s full of stuff!”

“Not just stuff!” She argued. “They’re nice things.”

“Where did you even find half of this?” He picked up a little statue of a badger mole. 

“While you guys were busy with the furniture, I stopped in a few shops.” She shrugged, reaching for the statue. 

Zuko pulled it out of her reach, holding his arm in the air. “You went on a shopping spree instead of helping this morning?”

“So? I needed things!” She tried to grab it from him. 

“You needed useless junk.”

“It’s not useless if it makes me happy!”

He had to smile at that. He lowered his arm again, handing her the badger mole before he turned to look at the rest of the room. “Mind explaining what you’ve done to our perfectly made bed?”

She followed his gaze. “Doesn’t it look, uh...cozier now?”

“You’ve made a nest, Yzako.”

She opened her mouth, searching for an argument. When she found none, she shrugged. “Yeah. It’s a nest.”

Zuko snorted, walking towards it for a closer look. It was a mess of blankets and pillows, a far cry from the way it had looked when they first got there that morning. As he caught sight of a piece of clothing, he narrowed his eyes. He leaned forward and pulled one of his undershirts out of Yzako’s mess, glaring at her.

“Where did you get this, exactly?” He asked. “I’ve been looking for this for days.”

She twisted her fingers together, hooking her claws on each other as she smiled sheepishly up at him. “I may have snatched it when we were packing the other day…”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “What’s the point of all this? The room was perfectly fine before.”

“No it wasn’t!” She insisted, coming to stand next to him. She grabbed the shirt out of his hands, carefully placing it back in the exact spot he had taken it from. “I’ve never had a room of my own to really decorate. This is my first chance to actually make it the way I want.”

“...a nest.”

“Yes, a nest,” she snapped. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”

“No, not at all,” he chuckled. “It’s...cute.”

Yzako relaxed a bit, smiling. “Oh, good. I was going to cry if you made me put it all back.”

“I don’t think that’s possible at this point,” he said as he looked at the calculated mess she had made. “Just keep the floor clean so I don’t trip.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She waved him away. “Kul likes it and that’s all I care about.”

“So he put you up to this?” Zuko folded his arms over his chest. 

“What? He’s been broody!”

“...broody.”

“Yeah, and I don’t mean grumpy like you.”

“I know what it means!” 

“Do you? Because you don’t seem to like our nest very much, but both Kul and I will sob if you insult it again, and that is a threat.”

As much as he wanted to roll his eyes at her again, Zuko resisted. She was furious, glaring up at him with her hands on her hips. He didn’t know what was up with her, but it was definitely entertaining and pretty endearing to watch. 

“Well, uh...I’ll leave you to it then,” he said, heading for the door. 

“Wait, why are you leaving?” She asked, almost looking hurt. 

“I’m just going to see if Uncle needs any help downstairs. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine!” She growled. “...I think…”

He stared at her for a moment. “Okay. Well. I’ll, uh...be right back, okay?”

Yzako nodded. As Zuko headed out the door, he caught her climbing into her little nest, grabbing his shirt and curling up with it. Okay, so it was endearing...but it was pretty weird. 

“Uncle, do you think she’s okay?” Zuko asked as he approached Iroh in the kitchen.

“Hm?” Iroh looked up at him. “Are you concerned about your lovely young wife?”

Zuko was unimpressed. “This isn’t the time for jokes, Uncle.”

The old man laughed anyways. “Why are you worried, nephew? She’s just settling in. I am sure that in a few days, everything will begin feeling more normal for all of us.”

“She made a nest, Uncle.”

“...hm.” Iroh stroked his beard in thought. “That is a bit strange…”

“See?” 

“Well…” Iroh gazed out the window at the perfect weather. “It is spring…”

“So? What does that have to do with anything?”

“A dragon is an animal. What happens to animals in the springtime?” He looked back at his nephew with a chuckle. 

Zuko paled, and then immediately blushed. “Uncle, stop kidding around. I’m being serious.”

“So am I!”

He followed his uncle as he left the kitchen. “So is she going to be okay, or what?”

“Why don’t you ask her for yourself?” Iroh picked up a basket and headed for the door. “I am going to introduce myself to our new neighbors and visit the market. You two will have the entire day to yourselves.”

Zuko’s face turned an even deeper shade of red before he looked away angrily. “Whatever.”

Iroh laughed as he left. In truth, he had no idea if his theory was correct, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the cause of Yzako’s strange behavior had to be something primal. He also had a suspicion that Zuko would be more than capable of helping her through it. 

Back in the apartment, Zuko was standing at the bottom of the stairs. His uncle couldn’t be right, could he? The old man was just making fun of him again. Humans weren’t beasts. They didn’t go through the same hormonal changes that animals did in the spring. 

...But did dragons?

He was suddenly nervous as he looked up the stairs towards his room. Why was he so scared? It’s not like she was about to do anything to him that he wouldn’t enjoy, right? Zuko’s feet slowly began moving, taking one step after the other as he gulped. When he slid the door open, though, his anxiety dissipated at what he saw. 

Yzako was peering up at him from the bed, watching his every move as he closed the door behind him. Her eyes were practically shining, glued to him like a predator watching her prey. When Zuko dared to approach her, he could see that her cheeks were flushed, a thin sheen of sweat prickling at her forehead.

“Yzako, are you okay?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” she panted as he grew closer. “Come sit with me.”

He slowly climbed onto the bed, yelling in surprise when she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed him by the shirt. She pulled him down into the little nest with her, her claws pressing into his skin as she wrapped herself around him. When he felt her teeth nibbling at his jaw, Zuko groaned quietly, his groin tightening. Okay, maybe his uncle had been right about this after all.

Yzako inhaled deeply, taking in his scent. It was warm, a little hint of campfire smoke and spices wafting into her nose. She growled, wanting more of it, giving his jaw a sharp bite before pulling back.

“Firebend,” she ordered.

“Are you crazy? No way!” Zuko hissed. 

“Please?” She let out the saddest, neediest whine, looking at him with those big snake eyes of hers.

Zuko sighed. He couldn’t say no to her after that. Holding a hand up, he made a small flame, the first fire he had created since coming to Ba Sing Se.

Yzako made a greedy noise, and before he could stop her, she was pressing her cheek against his palm. The heat didn’t bother her, but Zuko immediately snuffed it out, staring down at her in shock as she kissed and licked at his fingers as if she were chasing the fire itself.

“What are you—“ his eyes widened at the feeling of her sucking at his thumb, her tongue swirling around it in the same way she liked to play with his cock.

He was getting hard so quickly that he was light headed.

“My skin is burning for you, Zuko,” Yzako said, voice heavy with lust. 

His heart jumped at the dark look in her eyes. She was watching him hungrily, her claws slipping under his shirt and pulling it off so quickly he thought she was going to rip it. She reached for his pants next, but he stopped her, eyes narrowed as he grabbed her wrists.

“Zuko!” She whined.

“Come here,” he growled, pulling her up against him. 

Yzako let out a breath when one of his hands tangled in her hair and gave a tug. He yanked her head back, holding her tightly while his other hand slid up to squeeze her tit. 

“You’re in some kind of heat, aren’t you?” He whispered, breath hot on her ear.

“I don’t know!” She whined. 

“Tell me what you want.” He said with a smirk, his grip tightening when she squirmed.

“You,” She panted. 

“You’re going to need to use more words than that, darling.”

Heat was building in Yzako’s core, but his voice was making her shiver. She didn’t know why she had woken up feeling so off that morning, and she didn’t care; all she wanted right now was to feel his cock burying itself inside of her, and for some of the tightness in belly to finally unwind. 

“I-I want you to fuck me,” she whimpered. 

“Do you?” Zuko grinned, licking the shell of her ear. 

She shuddered. The tightness was getting worse and worse by the second, her skin feeling hotter than ever. It was almost making her nauseous, but rather than wanting to lay down and sleep it off, she could only think about the scent of Zuko’s fire and how wet it was making her.

“I told you to use your words, Yzako.” He growled, sending a shiver up her spine.

She could barely think straight. “Please, please fuck me…”

“Then why don’t you get undressed for me so I can see how perfect you are?” Zuko let go of her hair and leaned back so that he could watch.

As she bared her skin for him, he was having a hard time figuring out why he had been nervous in the first place. Yzako was gorgeous and acting even more erotic than she usually did when they fucked, her movements charged with sexual energy. Zuko palmed himself through the fabric of his pants as he watched her, groaning in appreciation at the sight of her fully naked body. 

She was sitting, facing him with her legs open lewdly. He could see that she was already wet, her pussy glistening deliciously in front of him as he crawled towards her. 

“What do you want me to do with this cute cunt of yours?” He asked, reaching out to run his fingers along her damp lips.

Yzako watched him with heavily-lidded eyes. Her heart was pounding, stomach fluttering as she listened to his words. She had never heard him speak in such a filthy way...but she wasn’t about to complain. 

“You like this?” Zuko lowered himself, his tongue lapping at her swollen pussy greedily. 

She let out a strangled whimper, tangling her fingers in her hair in a desperate attempt to ground herself. She felt like she was going to burn up, fire spreading from her core to the rest of her body as Zuko found her clit and sucked at it. He grinned, rolling the sensitive nub between his teeth, grabbing her hips and holding her down when she bucked against him. Yzako’s noises were filthy, egging him on while her pussy kept getting wetter and wetter. He was more than happy to stay there forever, eating her out like his life depended on it, but when he pulled away and saw the desperate look on her flushed face, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her and never leave. 

Yzako could barely think. Her brain refused to form sentences, little more than needy whines leaving her mouth. All she could focus on was him, the planes of his chest as he pressed up against her, the feeling of his hands sliding down her sides to cup her ass, the heat of his lips as he kissed her...and then white hot pleasure tearing through her when he pushed the head of his cock into her heat. 

Zuko could hardly control himself. She was scorching hot and unbelievably wet, her pussy already squeezing his dick. He let out a low moan in her ear as he sank into her, his hips rolling against her core and coaxing more of those delicious sounds from her throat. She had never acted so needy before, no matter how horny she was, and the Yzako he had pinned beneath him was like an entirely different person. She was writhing, rolling her hips with his, desperate for more friction and keening whenever he rubbed against a good spot. 

“M-more,” she whimpered, clawing at his back. 

With a grin, he pushed further, bottoming out inside her with a low groan. She shivered at the sound, leaning her head back and exposing her throat to him. Zuko left sloppy kisses over it, scowling whenever his teeth came into contact with her metal collar. Dipping lower, he began sucking at her collar bone, angry red hickeys blooming in his wake as he made his way down to her tits and pulled a nipple into his mouth. 

She arched up against him, breathing heavily, her claws sinking into the flesh of his back while her legs wrapped around his waist. Her heels pushed him in even deeper, the tip of his cock nuding at her cervix almost painfully. Yzako was too overtaken by lust to care, though; all she craved was her release, and as Zuko forced her to roll over onto her front, she finally found it. His hands gripped her ass, leaving red fingerprints on her skin. He noticed the way she sank down against the sheets and smirked, grabbing a fistful of her hair and grunting at the way she spasmed around him. 

“You want it rough, baby?” he asked. 

Yzako nodded, unable to form words as he plowed into her. The change in his angle was making her vision blur, breaths coming quickly as she got closer and closer to orgasm. When she finally tipped over the edge, she came with a loud cry, her voice muffled by the sheets. Zuko couldn’t contain himself, her pussy clamping down around him in the most divine way until he felt himself exploding inside of her. 

She sighed at the sensation of being filled, and as Zuko pulled out and flopped down next to her, her head finally began to clear. The burning in her core was starting to die down and she could think straight again. 

“Wow,” Zuko breathed. 

Yzako turned to look at him with a grin. “You said it.”

He leaned over to kiss her. “Feel better?”

She nodded, laying her head on his chest. “Yeah. Thank you. That was...weird. I guess I actually am in heat or something.”

Zuko laughed lightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Is that new?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “That’s never happened before. It’s...overwhelming.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Like a fire I can’t put out. Like...the horniest I’ve ever been, times a million.” she groaned, squeezing her thighs together as a familiar heat returned. “And it’s coming back…”

Zuko grinned, kissing her sweaty forehead. “Uncle will be gone until late. I’ve got all day to take care of you.”

His words caused the heat to surge in Yzako’s belly and he let out a breathy whine, clinging to him. Zuko chuckled, pressing his lips to her head again while his fingers ventured lower to play with her. She came into his hand not long after, reaching orgasm again and again until she was finally tired enough to sleep just as the sun was beginning to set. By the time she woke again, Iroh was back home and cooking dinner, and she felt well enough to dare venture down to eat something before disappearing back into her little nest to sleep off the rest of her short, strange heat. 

It only lasted the night, and by morning, she felt more like herself again. Kul’s spirit was snoozing happily and she scowled, suspecting that it was all some kind of stupid, inconvenient dragon thing that was happening because of him. She was glad that it didn’t last long, though, and she spent her time in bed while Zuko took a little trip to the lower ring by himself.

This was his last day off before he would need to help his uncle with the new tea shop, and rather than spend it relaxing, he chose to use his time to visit Min and the other girls. He knew how it looked, a young, lone man approaching a gaggle of street girls...but he didn’t care. They were practically his friends by that point, or at least that’s what he would call them if he was the type of person to have friends. And besides, he was there for a good reason. 

Fen and Chun squealed happily when they saw him, running forward to grab his arms.

“Here all alone?” Fen asked slyly. 

“You’re not cheating on our dear Kaida, are you?” Chun giggled, holding onto him tightly.

“No, I’m not.” he said flatly, glaring at her. 

“What brings you back to the lower ring, Lee?” Min asked. 

“I need your help.”

“No fair!” Fen yelled. “I wanna help you!”

“No, I do!” Chun snapped at her cohort. 

“Ladies, please,” Zuko untangled himself from them. This. This was why they weren’t his friends. He could barely put up with them when they were acting normal, but those two were far too annoying when they got into it. 

“What can we help you with?” Zhang asked in that low voice, her face hidden by her fan, as usual. 

“It’s not for me, it’s for, uh...Kaida” he said awkwardly. “I need something to prevent...you know.”

Min raised an eyebrow. “Prevent what, Lee?”

“I kind of...you know.” His red face made Chun and Fen giggle and he glared at them again. “Didn’t pull out.”

The two girls at his sides shrieked with laughter. 

“Girls, come on,” Min said, trying to hide her smile as she reined them in. “Leave Lee alone. He’s trying to be helpful.” she held her hand out to him. “Come on. We have a good stash of herbs we use inside.”

He took her hand hesitantly, following her inside the brothel they so often stood outside of. Zuko had never been inside it, but he was shocked to find that it was decorated lavishly, clients and workers lounging on piles of cushions, the smell of smoke wafting through the air. Min took him to her room, grabbing a small pouch from a table and handing it to him. 

“Just have her make tea with these. Honestly, we’ve been sharing it with her for a while now, so she should be fine as is...but there’s no harm in having more.”

Zuko stared at her. 

“Oh, dear. You really have no idea how women work, do you?” Min laughed, waving him away. “As soon as Kaida went to live with you, she asked me for the herbs we all use. It’s normal, don’t be a baby about it.”

“...Thanks, I think,” he grumbled, making for the door. Just before he reached it, he turned to her. “The, uh...new tea shop is opening tomorrow. You should all come. I’m sure uncle can leave some invitations for you at the train station so the guards don’t give you any shit.”

Min’s face lit up. “An invitation to the upper ring? Of course! Thank you, Lee.”

Zuko smiled a little. “Yeah. No problem.”

He left, walking through the brothel awkwardly, saying goodbye to the other girls outside before he returned home. He found Yzako still snuggled up in her nest and tossed the pouch of herbs to her, laughing when she recoiled from the smell of them. 

“Did you get these from Min?” she asked. “Is that where you were all morning?”

“Yeah. She said you’d know what to do.” he sat down on the edge of the bed, still looking awkward. 

“Wait, did you visit the brothel to get me birth control?” Yzako crawled towards him with a wide grin on her face. “And you didn’t cry?”

“What?” he turned towards her with a glare. “Why would I cry?”

“You’re just so awkward!” she laughed, pressing a kiss against his cheek. “That was...really thoughtful.”

“Yeah, well…” he grumbled. 

“Thank you, Zuko.” she turned his head towards her with a hand on his jaw and kissed his lips. “I love you.”

He smiled and sighed into the kiss. “I love you, too.”


	52. Azula

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS I'M YELLING look at this fanart of Yzako! When I tell you I absolutely teared up seeing it though omg...I'm so in love. I can't believe so many people are loving this fic. It makes my heart soar! If anyone ever makes fanart of any kind please let me know so I can feature it!

[CHECK OUT THIS FANART OF YZAKO BY NURCHIE OMG](https://www.deviantart.com/nurchie/art/Yzako-859779955)

“Everything is going even better than I could have hoped for. We have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity, girls,” Azula said, pacing across the room. 

“Mai finally gets to wear makeup that isn’t totally depressing?” Te Lee asked, turning from the vanity she was sitting at.

“Very funny,” Mai growled as she wiped at the heavy makeup covering her face. “I hate these Kyoshi girls. This looks so stupid on me.” 

“I’m talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom,” Azula grinned, stopping before a window overlooking the palace grounds. “For a hundred years, the Fire Nation has been hammering away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. Now, we are on the inside...and we can take it by ourselves.”

“You’re so confident,” Ty Lee sighed. “I really admire that about you.”

“From the inside, we’re in perfect position to organize a coup and overthrow the Earth King. Now...we just need to find our little dragon.”

“This city is huge,” Mai said. “How are we supposed to find Yzako, let alone get a message to her?”

Azula frowned slightly. They had only gotten into the city thanks to the stolen Kyoshi Warrior uniforms they stole from the girls they had met outside Ba Sing Se, and in the weeks they had been separated from Yzako, they hadn’t heard a peep out of their little mole. Mai was right; the Earth Kingdom capital was massive, full of refugees who were easy enough to blend in with. Yzako was no doubt lurking amongst them, and reaching her would be a delicate task. 

“With any luck, she’ll come to us.” Azula finally said. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  


“Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I’d end up owning my own tea shop,” Iroh beamed as he looked out over the Jasmine Dragon. It was full of guests, Yzako and her friends sitting at a table in the corner while a few servers walked around the room. “Follow your passion, nephew, and life will reward you.”

“Congratulations, Uncle,” Zuko smiled. 

“I’m very thankful,” Iroh said, hands clasped behind his back. Quon had ensured that the new tea shop was perfect, the gold and green decor shining brightly as the morning sunlight poured in from the open doors. 

“You deserve it.” Zuko said. “The Jasmine Dragon will be the finest tea shop in Ba Sing Se.”

“No,” Iroh looked up at him. “I’m thankful because you decided to spend this special day with me. It means more to me than you know.”

Yzako looked up just in time to see Zuko pulling his uncle into a hug. She smiled warmly. The morning was going perfectly so far, and Iroh was happier than ever as he brewed tea in his sparkling new shop. Zuko hadn’t told her that invited Min and the others for the big day, and when they appeared in the doors soon after they opened, she was ecstatic. They gave her a little shit, teasing her about the way her boyfriend had appeared asking for their help the day before, but she shut them up with some of the juicier details of their lovemaking before they could make her blush. 

“Wow,” Fen breathed. “What happened to you?”

“Yeah, that’s super weird!” Chun agreed. 

“Although...you are pretty weird all the time as it is.”

“Yeah, I don’t know anybody else with claws….”

“Oh, come on,” Yzako rolled her eyes, feigning innocence. “It isn’t that strange. There’s all kinds of weirdos in Ba Sing Se.”

“Oh, trust us, we know,” Min rolled her eyes. “A few days ago, one of my customers from the upper ring was telling me about some of the Earth King’s new guests. Some kind of warrior women or something.” she shrugged. “He acted like it was impressive, but I’d never heard of them before.”

“Warrior women, huh?” Yzako sipped her tea. “I dunno, that sounds pretty fun to me.”

“The something warriors...Koi? Yoshi?”

“...Kyoshi?” Zuko appeared with a fresh pot of tea. “What about them?”

“Yeah, that’s the one!” Min said. “The Kyoshi Warriors. They’re here in the city, I guess.”

Yzako shared a knowing look with Zuko. It was perfectly normal for a group of Earth Kingdom fighters to be in the capital, but it was a little...unsettling, she guessed, to think about things from their past. 

“Do you know about them?” Fen asked excitedly. 

Zuko shrugged, trying to act normal. “I’ve just heard the name.”

“Do you think they’re pretty?” Chun held her cup up for him to refill. 

“They’re named after Avatar Kyoshi,” Zhang spoke up from behind her raised cup. “Of course they’re pretty.”

“If you knew who they were, why didn’t you speak up?” Min asked, irritated. 

“What do they look like?” Fen asked impatiently. 

They devolved into a bubble of questions, arguing over the Kyoshi Warriors while Yzako enjoyed her drink. When they finally decided they should return to the lower ring, they demanded that she take them to get a glimpse of the palace, and with nothing better to do, she complied. They walked through the streets of the upper ring in their finest clothes, giggling at the aristocrats they passed by. When the palace gates came into view, they all stopped and stared, eyes wide at the sight of such an impressive structure. 

“Wow,” Fen breathed. 

“This must be the fanciest palace in the world,” Chun said. 

“It’s fine, I guess,” Yzako grumbled. The Earth King’s home was gorgeous, sure, but it was nothing compared to Ozai’s. As far as Yzako was concerned, the Fire Nation palace was the finest ever built...but maybe she was a bit biased. 

“Look up there, on the steps!” Fen pointed. 

Yzako followed with her eyes. In the distance, at the top of the palace steps, she could just barely make out a few bright green shapes. One seemed to stand up, though it was hard to tell from so far away, and Yzako suddenly felt the familiar sensation of being watched. 

Kul growled softly. It wasn’t just someone’s eyes on them...it was the feeling of being hunted, their every move being tracked. 

“Well, we should probably stop bothering them,” Min said. “I don’t want to get yelled at for staring, either. Come on, girls. Let’s head back.”

Fen let out a loud sigh, following her leader as she turned. 

“Are you coming, Kaida?” Chun asked. 

Yzako shook her head quickly. “No, I’m going to stop back at the apartment. You know the way to the station, right?”

Min smiled. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. Give Mushi our congratulations again, will you?”

She did her best to seem relaxed. “Yeah, for sure.”

They gave a little wave as they left. Yzako watched them disappear out of sight, only turning back towards the palace when she was certain she was alone. When she saw a Kyoshi Warrior approaching the gates, she narrowed her eyes. She was positive this wasn’t one of the girls she had encountered when she and Zuko had followed the avatar to Kyoshi Island all those months ago. Her movements were too fluid, almost catlike as she neared the gates.

When she grew close enough, Yzako could see familiar golden eyes, and she immediately stiffened. 

“Well, well,” Azula said. “I knew you’d come when called, but I wasn’t so sure you’d appear on your own. I’m impressed, dragon.”

“You didn’t doubt me, did you?” Yzako asked, doing her best to appear calm before the princess. 

“Not necessarily.” Azula shrugged. “It had simply been so long since I’d seen you, I almost began to worry.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “I’m sure.”

Azula smirked. “How has your experience in this annoying little city been? I hope you’ve got something interesting to tell me, Golden Dragon.”

Yzako hesitated. She had hoped to never deal with Azula again, yet here she was, as cold and cruel as ever. She needed to keep the princess off her back and avoid suspicion, lest something awful happen to her in her sleep. 

“I entered as a refugee, like everyone else.” 

“And now you’ve clawed your way up to the upper ring,” Azula grinned. “Excellent work blending in with the commoners. Have you been working as a brothel girl?”

Yzako opened her mouth in rebuttal, but Azula laughed before she could say anything. 

“Very clever. I’m sure you’ve learned more than enough about Ba Sing Se in your time with those other girls.”

Yzako let out a little sigh. Azula was watching her expectantly, waiting for a useful tidbit of information. What could she do? If she disobeyed Azula, it would either result in a firefight or something far worse later on. If she got Azula off her back...she had a chance to continue being happy, maybe living as an informant if nothing else. 

“The city is controlled by a group called the Dai Li.” she lowered her voice. 

Azula tilted her head. “Yes, I’ve heard of them. It seemed the Earth King just had their leader arrested when we arrived here yesterday. What else do you know?”

“Ba Sing Se is built on top of ruins. They use the tunnels to travel through the city. They’re always watching, Azula.” she put extra emphasis on the princess’s name, reminding her that she was just as much in hiding as Yzako.

She just smiled and looked towards the palace steps thoughtfully. “Good work, Yzako. Keep an ear out. I’ll be in touch.”

With that, she turned and left, walking back the way she had come. Yzako stood and watched for a moment, nervously clenching and unclenching her hands. Should she do something? Out there, in broad daylight, right in front of the Earth King’s palace, what was there that she could possibly do? She wasn’t about to rat Azula out; doing something like that was bound to land her in trouble, too, and she didn’t need any heat coming down on her or her little family. 

She walked back to the tea shop hurriedly, her head down, her hands folded in her sleeves. Yzako was too nervous to feel guilty about hiding secrets from Zuko and Iroh, her mind racing. Her top priority was making sure Azula didn’t kill them. If she had to, she would let the city burn to protect them.

When she walked into the Jasmine Dragon, a sense of calm overcame her. She took a deep inhale and then smiled. Whatever threats were looming on the horizon were far enough away that she could at least enjoy the shop’s grand opening for a little longer; and besides, when it came down to it, she could probably beat Azula in a fight. Yzako shoved her worries aside, sitting down and enjoying the fresh tea Zuko set in front of her with a smile. 

He was happy, and that made her happy. 

They stayed busy for the entire day, wealthy customers coming and going even as the sun began to set. Iroh didn’t show any signs of wanting a break, furiously brewing tea and sending Zuko out with fresh kettles anytime a new order came in. By the time they were finally closing, both men were exhausted, despite having an entire fleet of employees working under them. With no sign of Azula or the Dai Li, Yzako allowed herself to relax on the walk home, enjoying some of Iroh’s homemade jook for dinner before retiring to bed with Zuko, comfortably snuggled up in his arms. 

Everything was fine. It had to be. 

That night, she dreamt of burning Ba Sing Se to the ground. 

Yzako woke in a cold sweat more than once, expecting the smell of smoke and the sound of screams to be filling the air, but she was always greeted with a happily-sleeping Zuko and their quiet room. Whenever she coaxed herself back into a slumber, though, the flames returned. 

She barely slept, waking up groggy and more tired than the night before. At the sight of Zuko so eager to go to work, though, she forced herself to get out of bed, a stiff smile on her lips whenever he spoke to her. Yzako was stressed, and no amount of pedicures or mud baths could ease the tension in her shoulders this time. 

Day after day, it was the same. She expected to see Azula at any moment, so she stayed as vigilant as possible, even when it meant falling asleep at her table in the Jasmine Dragon. She needed to be alert and ready for when the princess came to call on her, but day after day, things were peaceful. Was Azula trying to play tricks with her mind? Was she lulling her into a false sense of security, or was she actually taking her time to make sure every piece of her coup was in place? Yzako couldn’t decide which was more likely, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. 

At least the shop stayed busy. There was no end to the steady stream of customers flowing in through the doors, and Iroh was loving it. He was enthusiastic every day, running around as he brewed tea and shouted orders to the employees. Zuko was also enjoying their new setup, looking friendlier and more productive than ever. He was always on the move, working nonstop, but as Yzako stood to stretch her legs, she managed to catch her lover in a quick kiss as he was on his way across the shop. 

“I’m busy,” he laughed lightly, trying to escape the grip she had on his robe. 

“Too busy for me?” she pouted, stretching up on her toes to peck his cheek. 

“Never.” he turned his head, catching her in a kiss before running off again. 

Yzako watched him, smiling as she folded her hands in her sleeves. She still loved watching his ass as he worked. It was a popular topic among Min and the girls, the way his well built glutes filled out whatever he wore. 

“Table for two, please,” a familiar voice at the door said. 

Yzako turned towards it, the content smile disappearing from her lips as her face dropped. Katara was standing there, her eyes wide with shock as she took in the scene before her. Momo sat on her shoulder, the lemur monkey wearing a similar expression as he chittered anxiously. 

“Uncle! I need two jasmine, one green, and one lychee!” Zuko yelled from the back of the shop. 

Yzako glanced back to see that his back was facing her. Good. If he so much as caught a glimpse of the avatar’s friend, he would lose his mind and all the peace he had managed to find within it. 

“I’m brewing as fast as I can!” Iroh yelled back. 

Katara made eye contact with Yzako before she suddenly turned on her heel and ran. 

Yzako bared her teeth in an ugly snarl most unbecoming of the fine robes she wore and took off after her, sprinting as fast as she possibly could in the Earth Kingdom garb. It was even more restrictive than her golden silks, she noted with a grimace. At least she had figured out how to fight in those. 

“Stop!” she snarled, reaching out and grabbing Katara’s arm. Her claws pricked flesh, the girl wincing at the pain. 

The waterbender pulled away from her, stumbling to a halt as she turned. “You’re a liar!”

“What? Me?” Yzako frowned. “I haven’t lied about anything!”

“How could you be staying with them?” she asked angrily. “What are you all doing here? Tell me now, before I go report you to the Earth King!”

“Katara, lower your voice,” Yzako hissed, eyes narrowed. “We’re living a happy life. You didn’t see whoever you thought you saw. Got it?”

Katara’s face scrunched into an angry grimace. “No.”

“No?”

“I’m not falling for any of your tricks! I thought you changed, Yzako!”

“I told you to lower your voice!” she snarled. 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Katara yelled, stepping back. “I’m going to the Earth King and the Kyoshi Warriors. Don’t try to stop me!”

Yzako’s eyes widened in panic. “No, Katara, believe me when I say--”

“Give me one good reason to!”

“Believe me when I say you can’t go to the Kyoshi Warriors.”

“Why not?” she crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re so scared of me reporting you and your _boyfriend_ that you must be up to something.”

The urgency in Yzako’s eyes and voice was only convincing Katara that she was right. Why would the dragon girl be panicking so much unless she was on the verge of being discovered? 

“Katara, I mean it,” Yzako’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. 

“This was all one long, drawn out plan, wasn’t it?” Katara huffed. “And to think you actually had me convinced that you were on our side!”

“Katara, if you go in there and talk to the Kyoshi Warriors, you’ll be putting lives in danger!” Yzako pleaded. 

“Whose lives? Yours and Zuko’s?” she asked crossly. 

Yzako stared at her. “Yes, actually! Don’t you give a shit about us?”

“Not when you’re both seasoned liars who have hurt us all over and over,” she growled. “Now leave me alone!”

“Don’t make me stop you!” Yzako lunged forward, claws outstretched. A short water whip slapped her hands away before she could reach Katara, the waterbender glaring at her. 

“What are you gonna do?” she challenged. “Firebend at me in the middle of the city?”

Yzako stepped back. The whip had stung, and though it was made of water, it was sharp and painful. Katara cracked it at her once more and the firebender shrank back obediently, like a frightened circus animal. 

Katara didn’t have the time to wonder about why. Instead, she gave one last harsh glare and turned to run, leaving the exhausted, anxious dragon behind as she sprinted towards the palace. She was determined to tell whomever she reached first about her discovery, and now that the Earth King had finally been briefed on the destruction the war was causing, she was sure he would listen to her about the urgency of two royal firebenders living just outside his door. 

Yzako watched her leave, furious with herself. She had grown too soft living in Ba Sing Se, too complacent. If this encounter had taken place a few months ago, Katara would have been burnt to a crisp and Kul would have been roaring a warning to anyone who could listen. But now, Yzako had done practically nothing, a far cry from the terrifying beast she had once been. 

Azula was sure to act soon now that Katara would be walking right into her clutches. The only thing Yzako could do was be ready for whatever came next. 

Returning to the Jasmine Dragon, she paused in the doorway. Iroh and Zuko were still working, so happy with their new lives. As she watched them, Yzako heard Kul growling in her ears and she narrowed her eyes in a silent agreement. Azula could have Ba Sing Se for all she cared. Hell, if she had to, she would help the princess take the city. A dragon was a valuable asset, after all, and her power was the only reason she had been allowed to live this long. Zuko and Iroh’s safety would be her bargaining chip. She was going to protect the people she loved no matter what, and willingly put herself back into servitude to ensure that they would live to see another day should the city fall. 


	53. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for everybody who reads this fic! I love reading your comments so much. It makes writing and posting these chapters so much fun!

Katara ran into the throne room, stopping as she saw three Kyoshi Warriors kneeling in front of it. They were facing her and the Earth King was nowhere to be found, which wasn’t strange in itself; he had plenty of business to attend to now that he was fully in control of Ba Sing Se. She was sure he was with one of his generals or advisors. 

“Thank goodness you’re here, Suki,” Katara panted. “Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city.”

Under all the layers of heavy Kyoshi makeup, Azula smirked. Had this little waterbender girl discovered Yzako?

“I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle!”

The princess’s eyes widened slightly. Oh, that was a delectable little tidbit Yzako had conveniently left out. Was the dragon trying to protect them, she wondered? Had she truly faltered so quickly yet again? This beast was impossible to break. It was lucky she was so useful in battle; otherwise, Azula would report back to her father and demand that Ozai put her down. 

“We have to tell the Earth King right away!” Katara continued. 

“Oh, don’t worry.” Azula finally stood. “I’ll be sure to let him know.”

As she walked forward, Katara stared in horror. She recognized that voice and those cruel, clever golden eyes. How had Azula managed to disguise herself? And where were the real Kyoshi Warriors? Her heart was pounding as she tried to back up and get away. This was what Yzako had been trying to warn her about, wasn’t it? She wasn’t scared of the Earth King after all...she was terrified of Azula learning about Zuko. 

She should have listened.

Katara stumbled back, Momo shrieking as he left her shoulders and took to the air. Ty Lee bounded forward, springing off her hands before hitting the waterbender’s shoulder and incapacitating her with a perfectly placed chi block. Katara fell, water from the little skein at her hip pouring out around her in a sad puddle. 

“So, Zu Zu’s in the city, too?” Azula said, approaching her. She knew Katara could hear her and a little grin played over her lips. “I wonder why my little wayward dragon didn’t tell me. No matter; we’ll speak with her soon enough. I think it’s about time we all had a little family reunion, anyways.”

  
  
  


\---

  
  


That same night, as Zuko swept up the shop after they closed, Iroh walked in with a scroll. Yzako had gone home early to make an attempt at cooking dinner, much at Iroh’s urging, leaving the two of them alone. She had left extremely hesitantly, and Zuko chalked up her clinginess to the heat she had gone through the week before. The past few days, she barely left him alone, gluing herself to his side whenever she could. 

He thought it was endearing. 

“What is it, Uncle?” Zuko asked. 

“Great news!” Iroh said as he read the scroll. “We have been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!”

He ran to the back of the shop excitedly, no doubt to muddle over what he should brew for Ba Sing Se’s mysterious ruler. An audience with the Earth King was an incredible honor, especially for normal citizens like them. 

As he continued sweeping, Zuko chuckled. Just a few months ago, he had been someone that tea makers could have tripped over themselves to impress. Now, though, that life felt incredibly far away, and he was more than happy for the opportunity that had fallen in his uncle’s lap. The Earth King must have heard the buzz about the Jasmine Dragon and decided to taste Iroh’s tea for himself. 

“We should surprise Yzako,” Iroh said as they walked home. “The Earth Palace is famed for its grandeur. I am sure she will love it.”

Zuko smiled. “I’m sure she will, Uncle.”

They entered their apartment to find that Yzako had attempted simple ramen, and though the broth was incredibly hot when she served it and the eggs overcooked, Zuko and Iroh both ate more than one serving. It was the first time she had tried to make any kind of dish, and it was clear that she had made it to suit her own tastes when she practically inhaled her noodles. 

“How was work?” she asked through a mouthful. 

“Today was rather uneventful,” Iroh said, winking at Zuko. 

Yzako noticed it, but she didn’t comment. She was too busy eating as much food as she possibly could so that Kul could store more of her energy in case he needed it. While she was home alone, Yzako had spent the day conversing with the dragon in her head, and they had come to the conclusion that, should it be needed, the city of Ba Sing Se would gaze upon the might of the Golden Dragon and kneel to the Fire Nation for their own safety. 

“Still good, I hope,” she said, somewhat absentmindedly. 

“Yes, it was!” Iroh sat back, a smile on his face. “We have stayed busy ever since our grand opening. Mr. Quon is more than pleased with our success, and I am happy to be sharing my tea with so many fine people. Though...I do miss our dear Min and the others.”

“We should invite them again,” Zuko said. 

Yzako paused in her noodle destruction to look at him. “You actually want to be proactive and spend time with them without me demanding it? Wow. They’re growing on you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

She swallowed another mouthful and smiled. “I’ll be sure to tell them that you love them all deeply.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Yzako snorted and helped herself to another serving. 

“Are you okay?” Zuko asked. “You’re acting like you’re starved.”

“It’s rude to comment on someone’s eating habits, you know.” she said, turning her nose up. “Especially a fine lady like me.”

“Yzako is simply enjoying the reward of a hard day’s work,” Iroh said. “I know I certainly enjoyed it!”

“See? I’m fine.” Yzako said, a little too harshly for Zuko to ignore. 

But he didn’t pry. 

After dinner, they went to bed like always, his arm around her, his breathing steady in her ear. He had pleasant dreams, and he had to admit...he was excited about visiting the Earth King in the morning. He knew Yzako would like it, too. He wished he could tell her, but a surprise would be all the more satisfying. 

While Zuko slipped into a perfectly lovely sleep, Yzako was hardly dozing. She was on edge, as she had been day in and day out ever since meeting Azula at the palace gates. Her encounter with Katara the night before certainly hadn’t helped, and it had taken all of Iroh’s strength to convince her to stay home and cook instead of sitting in the Jasmine Dragon all day. He thought she needed the mental stimulation, but her time away from them did nothing but continue to fry her nerves. 

So, when she heard a quiet noise in the street outside, she shot up out of bed in an instant. The room was quiet, a gentle breeze wafting in through the open window. Looking down, she saw that Zuko was sleeping soundly, his scarred side facing up. That explained why he hadn’t heard anything. 

Yzako crept out of bed, and before she knew it, she was standing at the window, looking down at the street below. She could see a lone figure standing there, and when they turned their face upwards, she paled. Azula really had the shittiest timing, didn’t she? Yzako couldn’t even try to pretend that she hadn’t woken up. The princess had definitely made eye contact with her, and she was  _ definitely  _ expecting her to come down and talk. 

So, Yzako did just that. She slipped on something more substantial than her thin nightgown and tiptoed down the stairs, grateful that they didn’t squeak. When she joined Azula in the street, she saw that she was bare faced, a hood pulled over her head to hide her features now that they were free of the Kyoshi Warrior makeup that had been granting her safety in Ba Sing Se. 

“What do you want?” Yzako hissed rudely. 

Azula smirked. “I took your advice about the Dai Li. All they needed was a little push, and now they’re under my control.”

“Great. Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Oh, Yzako,” she laughed. “We both know you weren’t sleeping. In fact, it looks as though you’ve hardly gotten a wink these past few days. Why could that be?”

Yzako pressed her lips together, teeth clenched. She wasn’t in the mood for Azula’s taunting. 

“I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that you’ve been hiding my dear brother from me.”

Yzako pulled her lip back in a snarl. “Leave him alone, Azula.”

The princess was actually a bit taken aback by the feral tone in her voice. It was an open threat, not meant to front or intimidate, but to display how far Yzako was willing to go. Once again, Azula was reminded that this girl had the spirit of a dragon inside of her, and she hated remembering just how tough Yzako was when she wanted to be.

“What happened to you?” Azula asked. “You’ve clearly failed Father once again. He’s going to be most displeased to find that your allegiances have shifted once more.”

“Nothing’s shifted,” Yzako snapped. 

“No? Then tell me why exactly you’re living with two traitors.”

She snorted angrily, steam leaving her nostrils. “I’m loyal to both them and to the Fire Nation.”

“That’s an oxymoron, Yzako.”

“It isn’t,” she growled. “And you’re not going to tell Ozai about anything. Not when you need me.”

“Oh?” Azula was genuinely curious. “And what is it that I need you for? I just told you I have full control of the Dai Li.”

Yzako’s thoughts were racing. She needed to convince Azula to spare her, and fast. The past few days all she had been able to think about was how far she would go to protect the people she loved, and she had resigned herself to the fact that that might be very, very far. 

“Because the Fire Lord once told me that I would be the one to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground. Imagine how good you’ll look commanding the dragon that destroys Ba Sing Se.”

Azula seemed to be mulling it over. Yes, it would be an impressive sight, to be sure, and Yzako could be useful for roping Zuko and Iroh in. After them, the last loose end that needed tying up was the avatar, and her plan to take care of him was already in motion.

“And you expect me to simply let your disloyalty slide?” she asked.

“You know how to play this game better than anyone, Princess Azula.” 

Ah, a little bit of flattery. Yzako was behaving in a far more calculated manner than Azula had thought she was capable of. She was calm, showing no signs of cracking under pressure. Perhaps she would be useful to keep around...besides, she belonged to the Fire Lord, and he didn’t like it when his property was destroyed without his knowledge. 

“You’re correct. I do.” Azula smiled. “You’re safe...for now. Though you’re going to be spending the day with me.”

With a gesture of her hand, two Dai Li agents suddenly dropped down from the roof above, their stone gloves quickly slapping over Yzako’s mouth and binding her wrists. Before she even had a chance to blink, she was being dragged away in the direction of the palace, knowing far better than to struggle when Azula was right there. 

“Take this up to her room and leave it near the sleeping idiot, will you?” Azula asked another Dai Li. 

“Of course, ma’am.” he took the small slip of parchment she offered him and she watched as he crawled up the side of the small house Yzako was living in. She knew Uncle had accepted her false invitation to serve tea to the Earth King, and now, Yzako would get the chance to watch her capture them for herself. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  


When Zuko woke, he was disappointed to see that Yzako wasn’t in bed. In her place was a note that simply told him she had gone to the lower ring to visit the girls, and all he could do was grumble to himself. He should have told her that they had big plans. She had no reason to think she would be involved with anything special, so of course she would take the opportunity to catch an early tram to the lower ring. 

Although...Yzako was never one to rise early. 

“Uncle,” Zuko called as she walked downstairs. “Have you seen Yzako?”

“No, I have not,” Iroh said, packing a small basket of tea essentials. “Why? Is she gone?”

“Yes,” Zuko said angrily. “She left a note saying she went to visit Min.”

“Ah, well,” Iroh was still smiling. “Perhaps we should have mentioned something to her last night.”

“You think?” Zuko rolled his eyes. 

“We do not have time to worry. The Earth King is waiting for us.” Iroh picked up the basket, slinging it over his shoulder just as there was a knock at the door. “That would be our carriage! Come, nephew!”

Zuko sighed, following his uncle to the ostrich horse carriage outside. It was the first time he hadn’t had to walk somewhere in weeks, and he was happy to feel some semblance of royal life again. It wasn’t nearly as grand as the palanquins he used to take everywhere in the Fire Nation capital, but...it was something, at least. 

“Look at this lovely city,” Iroh said happily. “It still feels like a dream, at times. Don’t you agree, nephew?”

Zuko glanced at him. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Are you worrying about her?”

He nodded. 

“I am sure she is fine. Yzako is a strong girl, and she can handle herself.” Iroh said, gazing out the window. “It is a shame she cannot be here with us today, but I look forward to telling her all about the palace.”

Zuko just nodded. There was something off about the note Yzako had left, but he couldn’t place it. He had never read her handwriting, but he knew that she was at least capable of reading, so it stood to reason that she could write as well. It was the way it was phrased that didn’t feel right, too stiff and formal. It was familiar, but not in the way that Yzako was. He couldn’t figure it out, and it would gnaw at him for the rest of the day if he let it. 

The ride to the palace was a short one, and before they knew it, Zuko and Iroh were stepping out of the carriage and facing the impressive building. It was huge, rivaling the Fire Nation palace they had both grown up in, though this one consisted of sharp, flat angles and lines, more befitting of the Earth Kingdom. 

“Many times, I imagined myself here, at the threshold of the palace,” Iroh said as they walked towards the doors. “But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror. Instead, we are the Earth King’s personal guests, here to serve him tea...destiny is a funny thing.”

Zuko had to smile at that. “It sure is, Uncle.”

They were greeted by guards at the doors and then directed to a private tea garden, its tea house lavish. It was decorated much like the rest of the palace, golds and greens covering the walls. A small wooden table sat in the center of the room, facing a small throne for the Earth King to take his tea from. 

There was no one there, but that was no surprise; the Earth King was royalty, and he could come and go as he pleased. In his absence, Iroh arranged a set of golden cups on the low table, pouring his freshly brewed tea into them and then sitting down next to Zuko to wait. 

And wait. 

And wait. 

“What’s taking so long?” Zuko finally asked. 

“Maybe the Earth King overslept?” Iroh offered. 

A door at the side of the room slid open and a row of Dai Li agents filed in, silently surrounding the two firebenders. They made no move to attack, but it was a threatening gesture, one that had Zuko tensing to stand. 

“Something’s not right,” he hissed. 

Another door, this one on the opposite side of the room opened, and two figures walked in. Zuko had to peer around the Dai Li in front of him to see as they stopped in front of the throne, and what he saw made his heart drop. 

“It’s tea time,” Azula smirked. 

“Azula!” Zuko snarled, standing quickly. 

“Have you met the Dai Li?” she asked. “They’re earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that’s  _ so _ firebender. I just love it. And it’s thanks to a tip from our dear Yzako here that I was able to contact them so quickly.”

Zuko’s eyes finally traveled to the other figure, and his eyes widened. Yzako was standing there, eyes cast to the floor, a heavy golden chain running from her collar to Azula’s hands. When she glanced up at him, her eyes were tired, but he could see her analyzing everything about him and the entire situation in that one instant before she looked back down. 

Iroh noticed it, too. He made eye contact with Yzako in the brief moment she was looking up, and it was enough to tell him that she was truly there against her will, but that she had some sort of plan up her sleeve. Whether it was a good one or not was up in the air.

With another sip of his tea, he stood. “Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname Dragon of the West?”

“I’m not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle.” Azula said, checking her nails.

“It’s more of a demonstration, really.” He took another sip.

Zuko watched him out of the corner of his eye. When he saw the tiniest wisp of smoke leave his uncle’s lips, he twisted himself around, pressing his back against Iroh’s quickly. The old man opened his mouth and a jet of fire poured out, taking down the Dai Li that surrounded them as he pivoted on his heel.

Azula snarled, giving Yzako’s chain a sharp tug. She pulled back on it, feet planted firmly as she glared at the princess. She may have bargained her way back into shackles, but that didn’t mean Azula was allowed to yank her around like a toy. 

While Iroh took care of most of the Dai Li, Zuko blasted a hole in the wall. He jumped through it, his uncle following closely as more agents ran after them. They twisted through a short hallway, narrowly dodging the stone gloves that were thrown after them. Azula hung back, dragging a grumpy Yzako along by the throat as she slowly joined the regrouping Dai Li. 

“They’re so annoying,” she sighed. “Don’t you agree?”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “That’s what happens when you attack people who are trying to serve you tea, Azula.”

“No matter. We have the upper hand.”

They rounded a corner just in time to see Azula’s targets escaping. With a powerful lightning strike, the outside wall was crumbling, Iroh jumping down to the safety of the garden below. 

“Come on!” he yelled, looking up at Zuko. “You’ll be fine!”

“No,” Zuko growled, hands at his side in fists. “I’m tired of running. It’s time I faced Azula.”

He turned to see Azula and the Dai Li standing before him, his sister still holding onto Yzako’s chain. 

“You’re so dramatic,” his sister smirked. “What now? Are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai?”

“Yes,” Zuko said, squaring his shoulders. “I challenge you.”

Azula only shrugged. “No thanks. Kill him.”

The Dai Li sprang forward, blocking Zuko’s flames with a panel of stone flooring. At the princess’s words, Yzako pulled back, yanking her chain from Azula’s hands. She stepped in front of her angrily, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared as she felt a rush of energy coursing through her veins, the kind she hadn’t experienced in a long time. 

Azula’s eyes widened slightly as Kul appeared, the dragon hunching down in the corridor. Though the ceiling was high, it was still too low for him, and the cramped space only served to make him look bigger than usual. He was standing over Zuko, massive claws tearing into the earthen floor as he growled at Azula.

“Don’t harm a hair on his head,” Yzako snarled, her eyes glowing an unnatural yellow. 

Azula frowned, her eyes narrowed. “Or what?”

“Or I make sure you can’t take Ba Sing Se or the avatar.” Yzako growled. “You’ll leave this city empty handed and be forced to go back home with nothing.”

“I thought we came to the agreement that you would behave. I suppose this disobedience is what comes from cavorting with traitors.” Azula sneered, walking towards her boldly. 

Yzako glared at her so fiercely that Azula actually felt fear for a moment. Shaking it off before anyone could see, the princess surged forward and grabbed the golden chain, pulling the dragon girl forward with one hand while electricity crackled in the other. 

“In exchange for sparing Zu Zu….” she whispered in Yzako’s ear, grinning as she made eye contact with Zuko over her shoulder, “you’re about to destroy all of Ba Sing Se for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel a little bit bad that whenever I say things like "Wow I can't wait for what's coming up, I'm so excited, wow wow wow" what I actually mean is "I'm so excited for you all to suffer along with me" lmfao


	54. Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go :))))))) Also this song is perfect for the vibe I was going for I think, so definitely give it a listen while you read!

Iroh ran as fast as his legs could carry him. When he saw the translucent, golden form of Kul through the hole in the wall, he knew Yzako had to be defending Zuko, and he leapt to his feet. The dragon’s head briefly appeared and Kul made eye contact with him, letting out an unearthly growl that told Iroh everything he needed to know. 

He needed to go find help. 

It didn’t take long for him to find the avatar’s home. The captured Dai Li agent he was dragging with him was certainly helpful in directing him right to the front door. 

It swung open upon his knocking, revealing Toph. 

“Glad to see you’re okay!” she smiled, stepping aside. Aang and Sokka were both staring at him, probably trying to decide if they needed to attack or not. Katara’s absence was striking, and Iroh suspected that Azula had something to do with it.

“I need your help,” he implored. 

“You guys know each other?!” Aang asked. 

“I met him in the woods once and knocked him down,” Toph explained. “Then he gave me tea and some very good advice.”

Iroh smiled sheepishly. “May I come in?”

The earthbender nodded, closing the door behind him. Iroh walked several feet into the room before turning to face the others. 

“Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se.” he said. 

“She must have Katara,” Aang growled, hands in fists. 

“She has just captured my nephew, as well.”

“Then we’ll work together to fight Azula and save Katara and Zuko,” Aang said, his mind already made up. 

“Whoa, hang on!” Sokka yelled. “You lost me at ‘Zuko.’”

“I know how you must feel about my nephew,” Iroh looked down. When he raised his head once more, he was facing Sokka. “But believe me when I tell you there is good inside him.”

“Good inside him isn’t enough. Why don’t you come back when there’s good outside of him, too?” the boy asked. 

“What about Yzako?” Toph asked. “I don’t feel her nearby.”

“Yeah, why don’t you get your little pet dragon to help?” Sokka snapped. 

Iroh’s face fell once more. “Because Azula has her in her clutches, too.”

“Why did I even bother asking?” Sokka grumbled. 

“She is trying to protect Zuko.” Iroh explained. “I fear that this means she has traded her freedom in exchange for his life. There is no telling what Azula will force her to do.”

When Sokka didn’t look like he was going to budge, Aang put a hand on his arm. “Katara’s in trouble. All of Ba Sing Se is in trouble. Working together is the best chance we have.”

Sokka sighed. “I hate that you’re right.”

Iroh smiled. “I brought someone along who might be able to help us.”

He walked back to the front door, the others following him. Toph ran ahead, kicking stones from their porch up to squeeze around the gagged and terrified Dai Li agent Iroh had captured. When he pulled the tight cloth down from the man’s mouth, he gasped for breath, his face sweaty and his eyes wide with fear. 

“A-Azula and Long Feng are plotting a coup,” he stammered quickly. “They’re going to overthrow the Earth King.”

“My sister!” Sokka demanded. “Where are they keeping Katara?”

“In the crystal catacombs of Old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace.” the man said. 

His captors immediately turned and set off in the direction of the Earth King’s palace, leaving him there entrapped between heavy slabs of earth. Iroh hoped that if they reached the catacombs quickly enough, they would make it there in time to prevent whatever Azula was planning, and ensure that Zuko and Yzako escaped alive and unharmed. 

Down in the caves, Zuko was sulking. As usual. 

“Why did they throw you in here?” Katara asked angrily. 

She hadn’t shut up since the moment she saw the Dai Li drag him into the glowing tunnel with her, and he was already sick of her voice. 

“Oh, lemme guess. It’s a trap, so that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches! You’re actually working with Azula, aren’t you?”

Zuko glanced at her over his shoulder before rolling his eyes and turning back. He was sitting on the hard ground, his shoulders hunched. Just an hour before, Yzako had protected him, trying to save his life as she stood her ground against Azula. Instead of executing him on the spot, his sister had ordered the Dai Li to take him prisoner while she walked away with Yzako on her little leash. 

He hated the sight of it. 

At least this time, there had been no hint of anger in Yzako’s eyes...at least, not directed at him. She was choosing her actions carefully, picking her fights in an order that would hopefully leave everyone alive. 

“You’re a terrible person, you know that?” Katara continued. “Always following us, hunting the avatar, trying to capture the world’s last hope for peace! But what do you care? You’re the Fire Lord’s son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snarled, finally turning to look at her. 

“I don’t? How dare you!” 

He rolled his eyes and turned back around. She was impossible to reason with, and he wasn’t in the mood. 

“You have no idea what this war has put me through!” she yelled. “Me, personally!”

At the sound of her voice cracking, Zuko looked at her again. She was huddled on the ground, knees pulled up to her chest. 

“The Fire Nation took my mother from me.” she sobbed. 

Ugh. Was that all? 

“I’m sorry.” Zuko said. “That’s something we have in common.”

  
  


\---

  
  


While Aang and Iroh headed down into the catacombs, Sokka and Toph ran to the palace to speak with the Earth King. The Kyoshi Warriors they found in the throne room weren’t familiar, though, and as Mai and Ty Lee kept them busy, Azula led Yzako out into the open, the two making their way up to the Earth King’s throne. The man was shocked and terrified, watching the chaos unfolding before him while Azula stepped up behind him. 

“This fight is over.” she called, her voice ringing out over the large room. She held a blue flame in her hand, next to the Earth King’s head. “Yzako, now.”

The girl sighed and nodded. Sokka stared in horror as something moved behind the pillars that lined the room, a massive golden serpent coming into view. Kul stepped out into the open, twisting his long body around to block the doors. It was a blatant show of power, bringing a dragon along to a coup, and Yzako would be lying if she tried to say it didn’t give her a little rush of adrenaline. Under different circumstances, this probably would have been fun. 

Sokka glared at her, putting his hands up in surrender. Ty Lee was quick to hop over and take both him and Toph down, a few Dai Li agents joining to escort the Earth King and take them all down to the catacombs. 

As they left, Azula smirked. “Get them out of my sight.”

Kul moved from the doors as they opened, the Earth King and the avatar’s friends disappearing through them just as a group of Dai Li headed by their leader entered. Long Feng was a man Yzako had never seen before, but she had heard of him through Azula’s quick briefing only minutes earlier. He was the former head of the Dai Li, and Azula had been certain he would attempt to double cross her and use all of her hard work to gain the throne for himself. 

That’s where having a dragon on hand was greatly advantageous.

As Yzako joined Azula before the throne, she looked down at Long Feng. He was a shrewd man, his hair falling in a long braid down his back. She didn’t like him or the energy that surrounded him, so much so that she was happy to side with Azula rather than this sneaky rat of an earthbender. 

“Now comes the part where I double cross you,” he smirked, hands clasped behind his back calmly. He acted as if he had everything planned out, every move calculated. 

Yzako hated that. 

“Dai Li.” he said. “Arrest the Fire Nation princess and this...dragon.”

Kul growled a laugh. Just as Azula had anticipated, none of the Dai Li were moving to do anything. They were standing perfectly still, ignoring their former leader’s commands, staring forward as if nothing had happened.

“I said arrest them!” Long Feng yelled. “What is wrong with you?”

“It’s because they haven’t made up their minds,” Azula said. “They’re waiting to see how this is going to end.”

“What are you talking about?” Long Feng snapped. 

“I can see your whole history in your eyes,” Azula smirked. “You were born with nothing, so you’ve had to struggle and connive and claw your way to power. But true power, the divine right to rule, is something you’re born with.”

Long Feng’s eyes widened in disbelief and Yzako smiled. She was glad Azula wasn’t directing this kind of analysis at her. 

“The fact is, they don’t know which one of us is going to be sitting on that throne, and which one is going to be bowing down.” Azula said. “But I know. And you know.”

She turned, running her fingers along the golden armrest before sitting down comfortably. Yzako moved to stand at her right side, staring out over the Dai Li as they watched. Standing with Azula had an odd familiarity to it. She briefly wondered if this was what it could feel like if she obeyed Ozai and he allowed her to sit next to his own throne. 

“Act wisely, Long Feng.” Azula said. “Don’t forget you’re currently surrounded by a dragon, the very symbol of Fire Nation might.”

Kul shifted, bringing his head around to rest in front of the throne. He snarled at Long Feng, exhaling steam and smoke as he bared his teeth. The former Dai Li leader was sweating, his eyes wide as she tried to figure out how he could have miscalculated the situation so gravely. His entire plan had depended on his men remaining loyal to him, and he hadn’t even considered the magnitude of a dragon being involved. Yes, he had information on Yzako, or “Kaida,” as her passport said, just as he had files on every citizen in Ba Sing Se...but he couldn’t have possibly imagined that she was so formidable. 

“You’ve beaten me at my own game.” he finally dropped to his knees. 

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Azula smirked. “You were never even a player.”

  
  


\---

  
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Katara admitted, looking away from Zuko awkwardly. “It’s just...for so long now, whenever I imagined the face of my enemy, it was your face.”

“My face.” Zuko repeated, eyes narrowed. His hand immediately went to touch his scar. Of course she would see him as a monster. Everyone but Yzako and his uncle seemed to. “I see.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Katara said quickly. 

“It’s okay.” Zuko sighed. “I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the avatar forever. It’s gnarled...it’s ugly. It’s a brand meant to show the world what a disgrace I am.” 

Katara was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “I could try to heal it for you.”

“It’s a scar. It can’t be healed.”

“I was trained in healing at the North Pole...and I have this.” She pulled a small vial from her belt. “This is water from the spirit oasis. It has special properties. It...well, it might do the trick…”

As he listened to her, his lip raised in a sneer. “No. I never want to get rid of it. Until Yzako, I hated it. Maybe back then, I would have taken you up on it so I could be free of such an obvious mark...but she showed me that scars can be beautiful, no matter how ugly they are.”

Katara looked uncomfortable. “I should have listened to her.”

Zuko glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

“The other night, I...I saw you and your uncle in that new tea shop.” she hugged herself, looking down. “I was going to run straight to the Earth King and the Kyoshi Warriors to report you, but she followed me. She told me not to, but she wouldn’t say why...I didn’t realize that she was trying to protect all of us until it was too late….”

Zuko glared at her. “You’re the cause of all this? I should have known!”

“What? Me?” Katara put her hands on her hips. “How is any of this my fault?”

“If you had just listened to Yzako, neither of us would be down here!” he yelled. “She carries more burdens than either of us will ever understand, and she knows more than anyone would ever suspect. If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately, it’s that if Yzako tells you something, you listen!”

“How was I supposed to know?” Katara snapped. “She didn’t even give me a reason not to talk to the Kyoshi Warriors! When I got to the palace, they were the first people I saw. By the time I realized I was talking to Azula in disguise, it was too late. Why wouldn’t she tell me that Ba Sing Se had already been infiltrated?”

Zuko sighed. “Because she was trying to protect as many people as she could.”

“Even Azula?” Katara looked skeptical. 

He nodded. “It’s...complicated. For all of us. But there’s no way she would want to risk the life we had here unless she absolutely had to.”

“Well, maybe she’s just slipping back to her firebender ways!” 

“Don’t you dare--”

Their argument was cut short by the sound of earthbending. A moment later, the avatar emerged from a cloud of dust, bushing himself off. Iroh followed through the small tunnel Aang had dug, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Zuko. 

“Aang!” Katara said happily, running to hug the airbender.

As Iroh ran to Zuko and wrapped him in his own embrace, the prince glared. When Iroh let him go again, his nephew pointed to Aang angrily. “Uncle, I don’t understand. What are you doing with the avatar?”

“Saving you, that’s what,” the avatar said. 

Zuko was enraged at the sight of him. His spat with Katara had his blood boiling, and now, this bald little monk was about to tip his anger over the edge. With an angry snarl, he lunged forward, but Iroh held him back with a strong hand on his chest, stopping the young man before he could do anything stupid. 

“Prince Zuko,” he said sharply. “It’s time we talked.”

  
  
  
  


\----

  
  


Yzako would never get a chance to find out what exactly happened in those catacombs. After Long Feng was arrested, Azula turned to her, a devilish smirk on her face, her golden eyes dancing. 

“It’s time to uphold your end of our bargain, Golden Dragon.” she said. 

“Bring Zuko back with you,” Yzako snarled. 

“Yes, yes.” Azula waved her hand. “I’ll bring our dear Zu Zu back here with me when we’ve both finished our tasks.”

“Iroh, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see to it that the old idiot remains alive and in one piece. But know that if you give me any reason to think you’ve deviated from the orders I’ve given you, I’ll kill them both, along with the avatar.”

Yzako glared at her. The air was thick with tension, lightning crackling in Azula’s eyes. “Fine.”

“Good.” the princess stood from the throne. “Then it’s time we both set off. Don’t look so glum, Yzako. This is our destiny.”

There was that word again. 

Destiny.

The Dai Li followed Azula out. She knew that the only way to ensure Yzako razed the city and then remained loyal to the throne was to convince Zuko to help kill the avatar. Zu Zu was gullible, anyways; it wouldn’t be too difficult to gain his loyalty. All she needed to do was promise him all the comforts of home and hint at restoring his honor, and the banished prince would do whatever it took to get it all back. Plus, though she hated to admit it, she would need his firepower. The avatar and his friends were slippery, and they had beaten her before. She wasn’t about to lose to them again.

Yzako watched Azula go with narrowed eyes. She hated the position that she was in...but there wasn’t much she could do about it now. She was trapped, forced into a situation that she had helped create. 

“Don’t look so sad, Yzako!” Ty Lee said, walking across the room on her hands. “It’ll be fun! You’re like, totally great at destroying things!”

Her words made Yzako’s stomach turn, but in a way, they were oddly uplifting. “Thanks, I think.”

“She’s right,” Mai said, not rolling her eyes for once. “If anyone can make this city bow, it’s you and that dragon.”

“Yeah!” Ty Lee agreed. “Go ahead, I bet you’ll love it! You were practically born to set cities on fire!”

“Just go get it over with so we can get out of here.” Mai sighed. “I hate this place.”

Yzako gave a little nod. In truth, she was afraid that she actually would enjoy it. As she walked out to the palace steps and saw Ba Sing Se stretching before her, she was reminded of the delicious rushes of power she used to get when she was chasing Zuko, and the beautifully warm sensation of dragon fire as it burned entire villages. Maybe this truly was her destiny. 

Maybe she was a monster after all.

Kul lumbered out after her, lowering his head. They shared a long look, Yzako’s face reflected back at her in his eye. The dragon offered her a low, reassuring grumble, trying to comfort her as she climbed onto his neck. It had been ages since she sat there behind his horns, and when he raised his head and gave her a better view of the upper ring, she remembered why it was the best seat in the world.

The sensation of riding a dragon was like nothing else. Yzako gripped Kul’s thick mane, leaning down as far as she could to speak to him even though she was sure he would be able to hear her no matter how low or far away her voice was.

“Are we really doing this?” She asked, unsure of herself. So much had changed over the past few weeks. She didn’t think she was the same person she was when she entered Ba Sing Se, but then again...some things never changed, and some people never lost their bloodlust.

Kul answered her with an ear splitting roar. All across Ba Sing Se, people in every ring stopped dead in their tracks, frozen at the sound. Everyone from Madame Blush in the dress shop to Mr. Pao in his tea house paused when they heard it, an unmistakable feeling of dread settling over them. The Walled City, the safest place on earth, had suddenly become very, very dangerous. 

Kul took to the sky, his body twisting through the air like a ribbon. He was shining in the sun, and if it had been any other day, Yzako would have been admiring the perfect weather. Her view of Ba Sing Se was unparalleled, the city sprawling on and on. It was just like the first time she glimpsed it when Azula tried to breach the outer wall, a crowded, glimmering settlement that seemed too big to conquer. Unlike that day, though, Yzako was viewing it from the inside, and there was no hope for Ba Sing Se.

As Kul’s jaws parted and a sea of flame poured from them, Yzako was almost horrified with the sheer glee that coursed through her veins. Maybe Ozai had been right; maybe she was a war beast after all, good for little more than crushing the Fire Nation’s enemies. At the sight of Ba Sing Se’s guards scrambling on the inner wall, Yzako only laughed, knowing that there was little they could do to stop her. She could see the Dai Li agents working for Azula appearing all over, subduing the soldiers who made moves to defend the city against their attackers. The coup was happening quickly, Ba Sing Se already beginning to fall.

Yzako hardly had to do any real work. She and Kul were mainly there to spread terror and strike fear into the hearts of Ba Sing Se’s citizens. Just like everything else the royal family used them for, it was a show of power, a flashy display meant to intimidate the entire Earth Kingdom. By the looks of things, it was working; upper ring citizens were running through the streets, grabbing their children and spouses and trying to get to cover before the beast in the sky could rain death down upon them.

Roofs burned, trees fell, and Kul did his best to keep up appearances. The Dai Li were watching, ready to send word back to Azula the moment Yzako showed any signs of stopping her assault. The princess didn’t have anything to worry about, though; flames were dancing in the Golden Dragon’s eyes, her mind overcome with a primal desire to see the city set ablaze. 

As they reached the lower ring, Kul let out a mighty roar, the sound echoing throughout the entire district. In a brief moment of clarity, Yzako made the conscious decision to avoid her old neighborhood and anywhere she was familiar with. She knew that if she hurt anyone she had come to consider a friend, she would never be able to forgive herself. So, Kul circled overhead, breathing jets of fire into the air and occasionally dipping close to the outer wall to attack the soldiers stationed on top of it.

Down on the ground, it was chaos. People screamed as they ran, tripping over themselves and each other. It had to be a Fire Nation attack, and a city of refugees was completely unprepared for actually being breached. None of them had ever seen a dragon, and for many, the sight of the giant golden monster in the sky was even more terrible than they could have ever imagined.

Min and the others ducked into the brothel, huddling amidst the cushions that usually provided comfort and relaxation. Than and Ying cowered in their small house, holding Hope tightly between the two of them. They had thought Yzako was a good person, a firebender who had changed her ways...but the sight of flames in the sky just outside their window proved that they were wrong. 

Yzako could feel herself slipping into her old ways, and by the time the Dai Li were tearing down the outer wall to let in a flood of Fire Nation war machines, she felt completely in her element. She enjoyed the wind in her hair and the heat of Kul’s flames. She loved the sensation of letting fire leave her hands and her mouth, especially after avoiding it for so long. She couldn’t hide her true nature anymore, her gentle, peaceful facade burning away until there was nothing but a firebending monster left behind.


	55. The Fall Of Ba Sing Se

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end of book ii! I've been drawing it out a little bit, mostly because I really want to get 30 chapters per book lol

Aang had barely made it out of the catacombs alive. In fact, everyone was pretty positive he didn’t; while Appa flew into the sky, Katara was working nonstop to bring the avatar back from the brink of death. She was glad Zuko had refused her spirit water when she tried to use it on his scar; it seemed like it was the only reason she was able to heal Aang after Azula struck him down.

“What the hell is all this?” Sokka asked, peering down over Appa’s saddle. 

“What?” Toph asked. “What is it?”

“Ba Sing Se is burning.”

Katara followed her brother’s eyes, setting Aang down when she felt him breathing steadily. When she leaned over to look, she saw the horrible sight of Ba Sing Se burning, much of the lower ring on fire. A huge chunk of the outer wall had been brought down, a sea of Fire Nation troops flowing through it to take control of the city.

Then, as the wind shifted, an acrid smell filled her nose. Katara held a hand over her mouth, her eyes watering at the intensity of it. Plumes of black smoke rose throughout Ba Sing Se, and at the center of all the destruction was a massive golden dragon.

“We need to get out of here before anyone spots us!” Sokka yelled. “Appa, yip yip!”

The bison bellowed, flapping his huge tail and propelling himself higher into the clouds. 

“How did this happen?” Katara slumped against the side of the saddle. “Everything was fine just a week ago, and now this...”

“This is what happens when we trust firebenders!” Sokka said. “We should have turned Yzako in the second we had access to the Earth King.”

“What about the fake Kyoshi Warriors, numb nuts?” Toph asked. “You were convinced they were totally real.”

“How was I supposed to know Azula stole their uniforms?”

“I’m just saying, this isn’t any one person’s fault.”

Katara sighed. “Toph is right. We couldn’t have seen this coming. What’s important is that Aang is alive now.”

“So now what?” Toph asked. “We can’t exactly go back to Ba Sing Se.”

“We’ve gotta meet up with Dad,” Sokka said. “He and the Southern Water Tribe fleet are our best chance if we want to hit the Fire Nation capital on the Day of Black Sun. Dad already had a small invasion plan in the works when I spoke with him a few days ago.”

“Don’t you think that’ll be a little hard with a dragon around?” Toph asked. 

“Dragons are firebenders, right?” Sokka shrugged. “So the eclipse will take away Kul’s power for a few minutes, too. Then all we have to worry about is...well, the entire rest of the dragon.”

“I just can’t believe she and Zuko turned on us so quickly.” Katara said quietly. 

“What are you talking about?” Sokka rolled his eyes. “Of course they did! They’re loyal to the Fire Nation. That means they’re our enemies.”

“Yzako was protecting him!” Katara argued. “She...tried to warn me about Azula. I didn’t realize it until it was too late….”

Sokka’s expression softened a bit at his sister’s tone. “Well...there’s nothing we can do about it now. We have to focus on reaching the fleet and getting Aang somewhere safe where he can heal.”

Katara only nodded. After Zuko had betrayed his uncle and sided with Azula down in the catacombs, she had been too focused on fighting and then trying to save Aang to really think about what had happened. Now, as they flew away, safely hidden above the clouds where the air was free of the sickening smell of a burning city, she could her stomach turning uncomfortably. She had no idea that Yzako was already destroying Ba Sing Se while Azula was attacking them in the caves, and by the time they had all fled, it was far too late to do anything. 

They had lost. They all barely escaped with their lives, and they had lost. With Ba Sing Se under Fire Nation control, the rest of the Earth Kingdom was sure to follow. Sokka was right; they had to focus on reaching their father and the rest of his fleet so that they had a chance at striking the Fire Lord on the day of the solar eclipse. If there was one good thing their travels through the Earth Kingdom had done, it was giving them the knowledge that the Fire Nation could be defeated. 

But could Yzako?

  
  


\---

  
  


When he saw the avatar’s bison in the sky, Kul looked up. He let out a huge roar, but made no move to pursue, instead circling around and burning a few warehouses in the lower ring. Yzako watched Appa disappear into the clouds, a little feeling of hope sparking in her chest. Maybe Aang had gotten away after all, and she wouldn’t have to deal with that extra dash of guilt. Besides, if the avatar had escaped, that was Azula’s fault, not theirs. She and Kul had done everything they were supposed to, obeying their orders to a T. Azula had no reason to doubt that they were loyal to her, and if she was a woman of her word, Zuko and Iroh were both alive and well.

Kul turned back towards the palace, pumping his wings a few times as he soared through the sky. The air was thick with smoke, the screams of Ba Sing Se’s citizens drowned out by the shouts of the Fire Nation troops overtaking the city. As she came down from her little high, Yzako chose not to listen to it all, staring straight ahead as Kul neared the palace. She needed to see proof that Zuko was okay, and then she could rest her tired limbs.

Azula was waiting for them in the throne room. When the Golden Dragon strode in, smelling of smoke from both the fires and the war machines rolling into the city, the princess grinned cruelly. She crossed her legs as she sat on the throne, tossing one over the other easily, as if she had been meant to take Ba Sing Se her entire life. 

Kul lumbered in after Yzako, barely managing to squeeze through the massive palace doors. His head was lowered, teeth bared menacingly as he followed her to stand before Azula. He was tired, too, but he still had the energy to hold his form, thanks to all of Yzako’s work over the past few days. His presence made Azula stiffen; he was perhaps the one thing, besides Ozai, that could strike even an ounce of fear into her heart. Maybe it was the way the dragon glared at her, unblinking and unnaturally still, or maybe it was because she knew she had been named after his killer. Whatever the case, Kul didn’t like her, and she didn’t like him.

When Yzako saw Zuko standing next to the throne, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least she knew he was safe. At least this wasn’t all for nothing. 

“Well done, Yzako,” Azula said, shaking off the unnerving feeling that had crept over her. “You managed to leave the city intact while still showing these filthy commoners the true might of the Fire Nation.”

“Where’s Iroh?” Yzako growled.

Azula rolled her eyes. “Uncle is alive. I’m afraid he’s being escorted home as a prisoner, though; the old fool refused to join Zu Zu and me.”

“That wasn’t the deal!” Yzako shouted.

“Calm down.” Azula frowned. “I’m sure you’re still all worked up from your little romp around town, so I’ll let your tone slide this time. I upheld my end of our deal. Uncle is perfectly fine, safer than ever now that he’s in Fire Nation custody.”

Yzako huffed and turned her attention to Zuko. He was standing still, his posture perfect like always. He looked so...so right, standing next to a golden throne, even if it wasn’t that of the Fire Nation. Maybe Azula had been correct when she bragged to Long Feng about the divine right to rule. Zuko was royalty, through and through, and though he was wearing Earth Kingdom robes and he no longer had his ponytail, he looked more like he used to on the ship than he had in months. 

His face was blank, showing no emotions, but his eyes betrayed them as his gaze met Yzako’s. He was scared, yet resigned to the consequences of his actions. She didn’t know what happened while she was playing soldier for Azula, but it didn’t seem like it had been pleasant in the slightest.

“What took you so long?” Yzako asked bravely. 

Azula narrowed her eyes. This dragon was lucky she was in a good mood, and that she was too wary of Kul to do anything. “It isn’t easy killing the avatar, you know.”

Yzako tried not to let her eyes widen in shock. “Did you really do it?”

“Of course.” Azula scoffed. “We both saw him go down. Didn’t we, Zu Zu?”

The prince nodded hesitantly, remaining silent.

“His friends ran off with his body.” Azula shrugged. “No matter. Father will be more than pleased to hear the news. So pleased, in fact, I believe he’ll welcome Zu Zu back with open arms.”

Yzako watched Azula closely. She knew the princess had to have a trick up her sleeve. There was no way this wasn’t all some part of a bigger plan, one that no doubt involved Zuko and Yzako. But Azula’s eyes didn’t betray anything the way Zuko’s did, leaving Yzako with absolutely nothing to work with. She would have to behave, for now, and play things by ear with each passing day.

“Can you believe it?” Azula continued. “It’s taken a hundred years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se.”

“I betrayed Uncle.” Zuko finally spoke.

“No, he betrayed you.” Azula stood, staring her brother down. “Zuko, when you return home, Father will welcome you as a war hero.”

“But I don’t have the avatar. What if he doesn’t restore my honor?”

“He doesn’t need to.” Azula put a hand on his shoulder. “Today, you restored your own honor.”

“Father tried to have me killed.”

“If you’re so unsure and unwilling to believe me, why don’t we just wait for Father’s response? I already dispatched a messenger hawk to him. Assuming all goes well, we should be on our way back home shortly.” Azula waved her hand. “Now go get some rest. I’m sure Yzako is exhausted after destroying an entire city.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. Leave it to Azula to rub it in even more. She held her hand out to Zuko, and with a sigh, he walked down the steps to the throne. As he got closer, his face began to fall, his eyes squeezing shut before he could lose his composure. He took her outstretched hand, spending only a quick moment to look Yzako over before he tugged her towards the doors. Azula’s eyes were boring into his back, and he could practically feel her gaze burning through him. He wanted to get away from his sister as soon as he could. 

Yzako took his arm, staring forward, her gaze level. Zuko was walking stiffly, holding his breath. Kul followed them, giving Azula one last monstrous glare before squeezing back through the open doors and stretching his wings out to block her view of their retreating forms. Once they reached the top of the palace steps, he let out a roar, a warning to anyone brave enough to consider approaching them. As far as Kul was concerned, he had taken Ba Sing Se, and the city was his, not Azula’s. 

Zuko winced at the thundering sound. When the massive doors closed behind them, he let out his breath, his shoulders sagging as he looked out at the city. It was still standing, Kul’s damage mostly cosmetic, and for once he was glad that Ba Sing Se’s architecture was mostly earth. The worst the dragon could do was leave scorch marks behind and burn some roofs. 

“What happened?” he asked, feeling a lump forming in his throat. 

Yzako felt just as uneasy, but she tried not to show it. “Azula ordered me to raze the city while the Dai Li brought the outer wall down.”

“So you did?”

“...Yeah. I guess so.” she sighed. “What happened with you?”

“I betrayed Uncle.” his voice was quiet. “He came to save me...and then he defended the avatar.”

“Is he okay? Azula wasn’t lying, was she?”

He shook his head. “She wasn’t. He’s fine. The Dai Li apprehended him and now I’m sure he’s been turned over to the Fire Nation troops.”

Yzako looked up at him. “Are they going to do more damage?”

He shrugged listlessly, as if he couldn’t find it in himself to care. “If people listen, they’ll be fine. If they try to resist, they’ll be arrested. Non-benders probably have a better chance of making it out.”

Well, that wasn’t exactly uplifting, but...maybe Min and the others would be okay. She and Kul had purposely avoided any of the streets they frequented, hoping that they would be unharmed. Kul’s fire had mostly been directed at rooftops and the soldiers on the walls, not the citizens themselves...but that didn’t mean that there hadn’t been any civilian casualties.

Yzako didn’t want to think about that.

“What happened with the avatar?” she asked. 

“Azula hit him. He went down.” Zuko closed his eyes. “Uncle defended them while they ran, and then the Dai Li captured him. I think...I think he knew he was going to be defeated, but he did it anyway.”

Yzako could tell how conflicted he was. There was pain in Zuko’s eyes when he opened them, hurt swirling in those amber irises. He was also hopeful, longing to finally return to the home that had cast him out. This could finally be Zuko’s chance to reclaim his title as crown prince and eventually become the king he was born to be...but how could he do that without his uncle’s guidance? Why hadn’t the old man just sided with him and Azula so that he could be welcomed home as a war hero? His arrest made Zuko worried. He should be celebrating. He should be excited to finally have the chance to go home. 

Zuko was tired, though, both emotionally and physically. Yzako could see it in his posture, and when he pulled her into his arms, she felt it in the way he seemed to collapse on top of her. 

“How did this happen?” she whispered into his shoulder, voice thick as she felt herself on the verge of tears. 

He sighed. “This is what we were meant to do. This is--”

“Destiny.” she cut him off. She wasn’t so sure about that one. She wasn’t so sure that destinies were something that existed. As far as Yzako was concerned, she didn’t get the luxury of a destiny anymore; or, maybe, if she did, she was only meant to live in servitude to the Fire Nation throne. 

“Zuko?” she asked, turning in his arms to lean her head on his chest as she looked out over the burning city. 

“Hm?”

“Am I a monster?”

When he was quiet for a moment, she felt her heart crumbling. She had asked the question already knowing the answer. 

Zuko squeezed her shoulders, rubbing circles into her arm. He rested his head on top of hers, staring at the rows of war machines and Fire Nation troops gathering at the bottom of the palace steps. He didn’t know how all of this happened, but they had both made their choices. Now, they would have to live with them. 

Did their decisions make them monsters? He had helped kill the avatar, and she had burned Ba Sing Se. Did either of them truly regret it, or were they simply desperate enough to do whatever it took to get what they wanted? What they needed? The Fire Nation would sing their praise, welcoming home the heroes who had done the impossible. There would be a festival commemorating the day the Earth Kingdom capital finally fell. Scrolls would tell the tale of their endeavors. Artists would paint their own renditions of how the great Golden Dragon brought the city to its knees while the prince and princess killed the only person standing between the Fire Lord and total victory. 

And for what?

Was it worth it? Was it worth the smoke filling the air, and the screams of civilians? How could they have done all of that, and not been monsters? How could they have lived in Ba Sing Se for so long, and after finally settling in, turned everything upside down in one day?

“Maybe we both are.” Zuko finally said. 

It wasn’t the answer Yzako wanted to hear, but it was what she expected. She let out a heavy sigh, stifling a sob as she clung to the front of his robe. This wasn’t the time to mourn, or feel bad about herself. She did what she did. Zuko and Iroh were alive, and that was enough for her. Would Ozai be cross? Would he forgive both her and his son and let them live in the palace, unbothered? The only way to find out would be to take every day as it came, and deal with problems as they arose.

Kul lowered his head, chuffing as he nuzzled Into Yzako’s back. He was tired, his scales fading from sight as he lost his form. He needed to rest. They all did. 

When the dragon was gone, comfortably wrapped around Yzako’s soul, Zuko took her hand and led her back inside. They needed to get to a bed and find a way to at least take a nap before Azula forced them up again. They left the sight of the burning city behind, turning their backs on Ba Sing Se as they went in search of something better.


	56. For Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you guys are enjoying this shit show! The next couple will be kind of short because I'm just trying to wrap things up so we can move to book iii!

Yzako and Zuko located a guest room and immediately fell onto the bed, their tired bodies sinking into the plush mattress. Oh, it felt nice to be sleeping on silk again. Maybe the perks of palace life would keep them from feeling too awful about the whole destroying Ba Sing Se and killing the avatar thing.

“Fuck,” Zuko sighed. 

“Not right now,” Yzako mumbled, already half asleep. They hadn’t even bothered to undress, climbing under the sheets with the last of their energy. 

Zuko snorted a laugh and rolled onto his side to hold her. “That’s not what I meant.”

“It usually is,” she muttered, snuggling closer. 

He rolled his eyes half heartedly. “Not always.”

“Most times.”

He propped himself up on his elbow. “For someone who’s supposedly exhausted, you sure won’t shut up.”

She cracked an eye open to glare at him. “What can I say, I’m a woman of many talents.”

He chuckled, leaning down to kiss her cheek. They both needed a bit of humor if they had any hope of coping with the events of the past day. 

“You certainly are…”

“Zuko,” she groaned, wiggling against him despite the tone in her voice. 

“You make me want to do things to you when you sound like that…” he pressed his lips against her jaw. 

Yzako sighed happily. It felt a little wrong, being turned on, but she was a sloppy mess of emotions and the thought of releasing everything was too tantalizing to ignore.

“What kind of things?” she asked cheekily. 

“Wanna find out?” he nipped at her ear. 

“I do...but I don’t wanna do any work.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “You never do anyways.”

“Zuko!” she gasped, sitting up slightly. “I do plenty of work. It takes a lot of concentration to handle you.”

“Does it?” he didn’t sound convinced. 

“It does!”

Zuko laughed, wrapping his arms around her as he kissed her neck. Their foreplay was usually much more physical, but tonight, they both needed something more lighthearted. Their banter lasted several minutes until they were both melting into each other, their lips finally meeting in soft, warm kisses. It felt right. 

It felt safe. 

“It seems a little rude to fuck in someone else’s bed,” Yzako said as she pressed her naked ass up against Zuko. 

“It’s a guest room,” he said, squeezing her tits. “Besides, part of being royalty is not giving a shit about things like that. We can do whatever we want. Ba Sing Se is ours now.”

His voice sent a shiver down her spine. He sounded more like he used to, when he stomped around in armor all day and barked orders at his men. It was the voice of someone who was remembering his true nature. 

It was pretty hot, as far as Yzako was concerned. 

Zuko was demanding, needy for love. He kissed and sucked at her throat, his hands gripping her sides roughly, as if she could slip away at any moment and leave him there all alone. Yzako kissed him greedily, holding onto him tightly with her claws in his back and her legs wrapped around his waist. With no reason to hide anymore, they were both free to light as many fires as they wanted to, the sheets burning around them as they sank into each other. 

“You ready?” he murmured in her ear. 

“Yes,” she breathed, arching back against him. 

Zuko lined himself up with her and flexed, thrusting his cock into her slowly. Yzako let out a gasp, like she almost always did, moaning happily as he pushed deeper. He moved slowly, with lazy, drawn out strokes, his hips rolling against hers easily. This was exactly what they both needed--some privacy and relaxation, and the chance to indulge in each other and make sure that what they were experiencing was actually real life and not some hellish nightmare. 

“R-Right there,” Yzako gasped, pressing her head back against the pillow as she squeezed her eyes shut. 

Zuko caught her lips in a kiss, moaning at the sensation of her pussy squeezing him. She always felt so comfortably snug around him, her narrow hips and thick thighs resulting in a plush, juicy cunt that he was eager to worship. He loved to treat Yzako right, to slip in and out of her in a gentle, romantic manner...but tonight, he craved more. He wanted to destroy her, turn her into a sloppy mess begging for more. 

So he did.

“Z-Zuko!” she wailed, claws digging into his back as he sank his teeth into her shoulder. 

He grunted against her skin, the room filled with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh. The prince was determined to take everything that was his, and right now, that was Yzako. He remained mindful of the noises she made and the way her body responded to him, slowing down when it felt like she couldn’t take it or she needed a break from his relentless pounding, but when Yzako was comfortable and she gave him the go ahead, he ran with it. He was rougher than ever before, covering her in red and purple marks, holding her down with a hand on her throat and a savage look in his eyes. 

She didn’t think she had ever been wetter. Zuko was unhinged, years of pent up emotions manifesting all at once and then pouring out. His movements were harsh, his hands grabbing her and squeezing harder than she was used to, but she loved every second of it. When she twisted her hips and forced him to roll onto his back, his nails dug into her hips, determined to keep the upper hand even while she rode him. Zuko was acting like a greedy, spoiled prince again...except it was more than that. He was more mature now, a man who had seen and experienced more than most people had, and it had added to his character. While his royal side was showing its face again, it was joined by a whole new set of characteristics, and together, they made a crown prince who was ready to become a ruler. 

A Fire Lord.

“Zuko,” Yzako moaned, rocking her hips against his. She bit her lip and grinned at the feeling of him so deep inside of her, the tip of his cock nudging at her cervix. 

“Come here,” he pulled her down for a kiss. His hands moved to her butt, giving it a squeeze. “Fuck, I love your ass…”

“P-Play with it,” she choked out, laying against him. 

Zuko’s lips moved to the side of her neck as he pressed a finger into her, smirking when she let out another moan. “Dirty girl...you should have told me you liked having your ass played with.”

“I-I didn’t know!” she gasped as he pumped his finger in and out. 

“Can I fuck it?” 

She whined at his tone, melting against him. “Maybe...you can try....”

He grinned, kissing her neck. “You know I always take care of you…”

Yzako nodded, pressing her cheek against his and letting out the filthiest sound he had ever heard when he added another finger. “It’s so good, Zuko…”

He didn’t need an ego boost, but she certainly gave him one. When she was stretched out to his satisfaction, he pushed her onto her hands and knees, looming over her with his chest brushing her back. His hands held hers, fingers intertwining while he kissed her shoulders and slowly pushed his cock into her. When she tensed, he paused, waiting for her to relax around him before continuing. It didn’t didn’t take long for Yzako to be able to take all of him, and when she could, she loved it. 

“Fuck,” she whispered, sinking down onto the bed until her tits squished against the mattress. 

“Hmm?” he rubbed his nose along her jaw. 

“You feel...so good…”

“How good?” he grinned. 

“Shut up and fuck me.”

“Not until you tell me.” his hips stilled, his thrusts ceasing.

“Ugh!” she whined. “Come on, don’t be a dick.”

“I’m not moving until you tell me.”

Yzako made a series of angry noises, finally settling into grumbles. “You make me feel good…” 

“What else?”

When she was silent, he gave a sharp jerk forward, his cock slamming into her. 

She cried out. “Y-You fuck me so well...you’re so handsome, Zuko...fuck, I can’t take this, please just fuck me….”

He shuddered, turning her head to devour her lips in a kiss as he started thrusting again. “Fuck, I love you.”

“I-I love you too,” she gasped. 

He suddenly pulled out, tugging back on her hair. “Come here.”

Yzako complied, crawling towards him as he sat back on his heels. With his cock in her face, she leaned forward, taking the head into her mouth and sucking on it until he hissed. Her mouth was almost as good as her ass, and her ass was almost as good as her pussy. 

“Good girl,” he growled, tangling his hand in her hair. 

She looked up at him with big eyes, blinking slowly as she took him all the way into her throat. Fuck, how was she so perfect? Just hours before, she had been destroying a city, and now here she was, sucking his cock. Why was that so hot? More importantly, how did he get so lucky? 

He rolled his head back. “You feel amazing…”

She pulled back, a little string of saliva connecting her lips to her cock. “So are you.”

Zuko looked back down at her. She was so...he didn’t even have words for her. She was beautiful, her eyes watering as she drooled on his cock, her hair messy as he tangled his fingers in it. Her hands rested on his thighs, those wicked claws pricking his skin in the most delicious way. At the feeling, he realized what he was truly craving was pain, in a safe, controlled environment, and when he voiced his desires, she was happy to comply. 

“Tell me when it’s too much,” she said, kissing his chest. She was on her back again, just as she had started out, her legs wrapped around his waist while her hands rested on his back. 

Zuko nodded, pressing his cock into her. She immediately flexed her fingers, claws sinking into his flesh. They cut deep, thick black thorns slicing his skin until it was red and bloody. He hissed, his back arching at the feeling, but he kept thrusting, his cock harder than ever. It felt right, somehow, the perfect mix of pain and pleasure. Did it come as a result of his stressful day? Had he always wanted this? He didn’t know, and he didn’t care. It was more dramatic than the last time she had used her hellish nails on him, but he loved it, hips bucking against her as he moaned. 

Yzako shivered at the feeling of Zuko going wild, his pleasure turning her on even more than she already was. Her exhaustion had kept her from cumming so far, but the sounds he was making were bringing her closer and closer to the edge, until finally, when he moved a thumb to play with her clit, she came around his cock. Her claws sank even deeper into his back at the sensation, cunt tightening and squeezing him until it coaxed an orgasm out of him and he filled her up. 

They were both breathless, Yzako’s claws leaving his flesh as Zuko pulled himself out of her. It wasn’t how they had foreseen their night going, but they weren’t upset in the slightest. The green bedding was scorched, the air hot and thick with the smell of sex. Neither of them knew what to think, so instead of dealing with it, they decided to push it away and enjoy each other’s company for as long as possible. 

“Well...that was fun,” Yzako said, snuggling into Zuko’s arms. 

“Did you like it?” he asked with a light laugh, kissing her forehead. 

“I didn’t hate it.”

“Come on,” he rolled his eyes. “You were practically begging for more.”

“Keyword ‘practically.’”

“Yzako…”

She laughed. “Okay, okay. I loved it. That was...interesting. The whole...butt part. I didn’t realize it was so fun.”

He grinned. “I never thought you would enjoy anal so much.”

“Me neither,” she snorted. “Definitely weird, though. Not bad, just weird.”

“But we can do it again?”

The eager look on his face made her laugh harder. “Yeah, we can. Why? You addicted now?”

He scoffed. “No. It’s just...nice.”

“Only nice? That doesn’t seem like a good enough reason…”

“It’s amazing.” he growled, rolling on top of her and pinning her down. “And you know I love your ass.”

Yzako smirked, twisting until she was on top of him. “How much?”

He blinked up at her owlishly, surprised that the tables had suddenly been turned on him. “A...a lot…”

She leaned down, her tongue swiping along the edge of his ear. “Tell me more, and I’ll take care of that little problem between your legs…” she ground her hips over his hardening cock, eliciting a low groan from him. 

“You’re incredible, and so is your ass,” he panted, chest heaving when she reached down to take his dick in her hands. “It’s--ah--it’s amazing…”

Yzako grinned, squeezing him. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Zuko groaned, knowing that she had just entrapped him. For the rest of the night, she rode him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear while her pussy milked him for every last drop of cum. They finally fell asleep in a sweaty mess of tangled limbs, the sheets singed, the bedposts charred. The Earth King’s palace had probably never seen the work of two firebenders in love, but now, they had left their mark on it, just like they had left their mark on Ba Sing Se as a whole. They both enjoyed pleasant dreams that night, slipping into peaceful bliss, free of any stressful nightmares that could have arisen had they not enjoyed each others’ company. For now, things were okay. 

For now, they could handle everything.


	57. Leaving Ba Sing Se

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to be wrapping this part up and moving on to book 3 omg

“Oh, you’re awake.” Azula smiled. “Good. Father’s message just arrived. Care to hear what he has to say?”

Yzako and Zuko, as well as Mai and Ty Lee, were gathered before the throne, Azula sitting across it casually, as if it were any old chair. It was too early for Yzako’s taste, the sun still low in the sky. The princess had barely given her time to put her hair up before demanding that she and Zuko come to the throne room, acting as if it were actually important that they be there. When they arrived, they found her flaunting a piece of parchment, smirking down at them as if she had some wonderful secret to share. 

“Yes.” Zuko growled. He was still tired, his mood incredibly foul. He wanted to be back in bed with Yzako, enjoying a few more hours of peace before having to face the world again. 

“No need to sound so harsh, Zu Zu. This could be excellent news for you.” Azula tutted.

He rolled his eyes. “Just read it.”

She cleared her throat dramatically, unrolling the scroll in her hand. “‘My Dearest Princess Azula—word of your success has already reached the throne, and I am most pleased to hear it. Breaking the will of Ba Sing Se is no small feat. I look forward to welcoming you and Prince Zuko home at once, and there is a special place next to the throne for the mighty Golden Dragon. Signed, Fire Lord Ozai.’” 

Yzako could hardly believe what she just heard. Ozai wasn’t angry? What exactly had he been told? And if Azula had embellished the truth or conveniently left out a few key pieces of information, why bother? Ozai’s acceptance was definitely a positive thing, and Yzako certainly didn’t want to return to the Fire Nation and receive the same treatment as last time, but this was almost too good to be true. 

“See, Zu Zu?” Azula smirked. “I told you.”

Her brother looked up at her slowly. “You were right…”

“As always.” She scoffed. “Now, chin up. We are to depart at once.”

“Finally,” Mai rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait to leave this place.”

“Indeed.” Azula said boredly. “Brother, join me next to the throne. We want the generals to see you for the royalty you are when they come in.”

Zuko didn’t hesitate. He strode up the steps to the earth throne, coming to stand at Azula’s right side. As he looked out over the three girls before him, he felt awkward, realizing that their eyes were all glued to him. Yzako regarded him with a level gaze, determined not to betray how hot she thought he was. Ty Lee was smiling, looking up at him while she stood on her hands. Mai was frowning, her eyes narrowed angrily, her brows knitted together furiously. 

Zuko frowned. He didn’t know what to think of being around Mai again after so many years. She certainly didn’t like him--that much was clear from the way she refused to even look at him--and the feeling was somewhat mutual. They had dated when they were teenagers, and pretty much the only thing they had in common was being Fire Nation nobility. When he was banished, it wasn’t like she could go with him, or like she even wanted to keep in touch. Now, as she watched the way Mai and Yzako regarded each other with narrowed eyes, he was starting to get the feeling that maybe one or both of them were jealous. 

Yzako was trying to stay calm. Her nostrils flared angrily whenever Mai rolled her eyes, but both of them managed to keep quiet while Azula discussed their trip home. It wasn’t worth it to fight over a boy, even if that boy did happen to be the crown prince. 

“War Minister Ching and his men will accompany us back to the capital.” Azula said. “Once there, I’m sure there will be some big celebration honoring us, and perhaps a feast. If there’s anything you want, be sure to tell Ching before we reach home. It isn’t his job to take care of it, but he doesn’t exactly have a choice, after his glaring defeat at the outer wall.”

“He’s taking too long,” Mai growled. 

“Indeed he is,” Azula muttered. “I’m sure he’s going to give some useless excuse as to why he’s running so late. Yzako, you look like you want to say something.”

“Azula,” she spoke up. At the princess’s glare, she cleared her throat. “ _ Princess _ Azula. There are a few civilians I request accompany us back to the Fire Nation.”

Azula raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Dare I ask why I should allow this? They’re all just filthy Earth Kingdom commoners, Yzako. Do you want to keep some as pets? For entertainment when we return home, perhaps?”

“I made a promise and I intend to keep it.” Yzako growled. “If you don’t send for them, then I’ll retrieve them myself.”

Azula resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn’t risk Yzako running off if she was granted leave of the palace, and she was fully aware that Yzako knew that as well. “Fine. Who is it? I’ll send orders to War Minister Ching immediately.”

  
  
  


\---

  
  


Min and the others were decidedly  _ not _ having a good time. Yesterday had started out completely normal, the weather perfectly lovely. Nothing felt out of place, and there were no signs of anything going awry...until, of course, a giant fire breathing monster appeared in the sky, the outer wall fell, and Fire Nation troops flooded into the city. It wasn’t how anyone wanted to spend their time, especially when so many members of the lower ring were already refugees fleeing the war.

Now, after spending the night huddling inside the brothel, the girls were finally getting sick of waiting around for something to happen. Fire Nation soldiers had already poked their heads inside the building, but after seeing no signs of resistance, they quickly returned to the streets. They were probably under strict orders to focus and behave, their officers having no time to waste on ladies at the moment; but, when they finally did whatever it was they needed to do and settled down to occupy Ba Sing Se, Min feared that they would storm the brothel and take whatever they wanted. 

“Maybe they’ll be good customers,” Chun said hopefully. “They’ve got money, after all.”

“And we’ll probably be forced to use Fire Nation coins now anyways,” Fen frowned. “Oh, no...does that mean we have to exchange everything we have? Is it even good anymore?”

“I think that’s the least of our problems right now,” Min spoke up. 

“Well, it’s not like we can do anything but wait and see what happens to us,” Chun huffed. 

“I hope Kaida’s okay.” Fen said. 

“I’m sure the upper ring is totally fine,” Chun rolled her eyes. “They always get all the nice stuff. I bet that monster attacked the lower ring and then left the rich people alone.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Min stood, the others watching as she walked to the door. 

“Min, come on!” Chun called after her. “We can’t just go wandering the city right now!”

“There are soldiers everywhere!” Fen yelled. 

“I don’t care. I’m sick of sitting around and waiting for something to happen.” Min reached to slide the door open, tightening her fingers around the handle. As she pulled, she braced herself for what she might see, expecting a burning street and the ugly helmets of Fire Nation soldiers. 

What she saw instead was a surprised man, free of a helmet but still wearing armor. Min blinked up at him, stepping back into the brothel. He looked like some kind of officer, dark hair tied up in a topknot, his beard well kept. He walked with a purpose, shoving his way past her to look around the room. His eyes swept over the girls and the patrons who had gotten caught inside with them the day before, his yellow irises scrutinizing them in silence. 

Min swallowed hard. She was usually outspoken, a leader in many ways, but the presence of these firebenders was making her terrified to take any kind of stand against them. They were reputed to be brutal, and though she had never seen the war firsthand, she spent enough time with refugees to know what kind of horrors the Fire Nation caused. Now, with one of their officers standing in her home and place of work, she couldn’t even find her voice to say anything about it.

“Hmph.” he made an unimpressed noise. “So this is what the lower ring has to offer. I don’t know what I expected.”

At his tone, Min finally straightened up, hands on her hips. “Don’t be rude. We don’t come to the Fire Nation and criticize your brothels, do we?”

He whipped around to look at her. “What was that, whore?”

She squared her jaw, glaring up at him. “I said,  _ don’t be fucking rude.” _

“You disobedient--”

“Captain, what is the meaning of this?” another man entered the brothel, glaring at the first. 

He stood at attention. “Commander, I--”

“I don’t want to hear it, Qiang,” the commander said, striding past Min to stand before his subordinate. “The princess gave us strict orders. If you can’t follow them, go back outside.”

“Yes, sir.” the captain grumbled. 

Satisfied, the commander looked around the room. “We’re here to collect four individuals. Nothing more, nothing less. Come quietly and everything will be fine.”

Chun gulped. She could see Min standing behind the firebenders, her eyes wide. Once again, she didn’t have anything to say, her throat dry and her hands shaky. If they all behaved, maybe nothing bad would happen...assuming this man kept his word. 

“Min,” the commander said. 

She paled. 

“Chun, Fen, and Zhang. Come with me.”

They looked at each other uneasily, no one daring to move a muscle. 

“I don’t have all day.”

“What do you want with us?” Zhang asked bravely. 

“You’ve been requested by name by the Golden Dragon. You are to come to the outer wall at once.” the commander watched her expectantly. 

Fen and Chun shared a look, standing slowly. They knew they wouldn’t stand a chance against two firebenders, no matter how much they wished they could be tough like Kaida would have been. If she were there, she would have stood up against these guys, glaring and snarling and protecting her friends with her life. But they weren’t her, no matter how much they wished they had the balls she did. 

“That’s it,” the commander nodded. “No need for any trouble.”

Zhang followed, rising gracefully and staying quiet like she usually did. The three of them stood before the commander, lips and knees trembling in fear. He didn’t make any move to attack them, but as they looked at the hands at his sides, all they could think about was how quickly they could move to burn them. 

“One more,” he said impatiently. “Come on. We can’t keep everyone waiting. We’ve got a schedule to keep to, you know. Where is the fourth girl?”

“Me.” Min said quietly, hugging herself. 

The commander turned to look at her and gave another nod. “Wonderful. Captain, accompany us to the wall and then make your rounds.”

The captain nodded stiffly, walking outside as the girls fell into step behind the commander. The street was relatively intact, a few roofs bearing scorch marks, but all of the buildings still standing. It seemed that the monster had miraculously avoided their block during its attack, turning its attention to other neighborhoods. 

When the commander stopped and turned to face them, Min frowned. He held rope in his hands, looking at them as if he expected them to simply offer up their hands to be bound. 

“Simply a precaution.” he said. 

“Are we prisoners?” Min sneered. 

“No, but you are going to be presented to royalty. Hold out your arms.”

When she hesitated, the captain grabbed her elbow roughly, shoving her forward. Min yelled angrily, glaring at him, but she obeyed, offering her hands. The commander tied them quickly, pulling the rope taut before moving on to the others. Soon, they were being pulled along in a line, all connected as they shuffled along with the captain bringing up the rear. 

“Where are we going?” Min demanded. 

“We have been given orders to escort you to War Minister Ching at the outer wall.” the commander answered.

“Why?”

“As I said before, you were asked for specifically. The Golden Dragon requested you accompany the royal party.”

“Accompany them where?” Chun piped up. 

“Are you sure we can’t gag them, commander?” the captain asked angrily. 

“Qiang.” he said sharply. “War Minister Ching gave us strict orders, and those came from the Golden Dragon’s mouth directly. These women are not to be harmed or harassed in any way, under penalty of death.”

“Whatever.” Qiang grumbled. “I’ve never even met this almighty Golden Dragon. Seems like a lot of big talk for someone who never even shows their face.”

“Are you asking for punishment, Qiang?” the commander asked haughtily, stopping to glare daggers at the captain. 

The man sighed and shook his head. “No, sir.”

“That’s what I thought.” he began walking again. “Keep your mouth shut, and I won’t have to report any of this.”

“Who is the Golden Dragon?” Min asked. “Why does he want us?”

“The Golden Dragon is a symbol of Fire Nation strength, and the Fire Lord’s right hand.” the commander boasted. “I assumed you would have known that, being personal guests. Now quiet down.”

“A-are we talking about an actual dragon?” Chun hissed.

“Like the thing that burned the city?” Fen asked, voice wavering.

“I said, quiet down,” the commander growled before they could discuss anything further. “If you don’t know the Golden Dragon, I suggest you hold your tongues and be respectful. It’s an honor to be summoned by anyone so close to the throne.”

He gave their rope a sharp tug, yanking them along. With no choice but to follow and nowhere to run, the girls followed, noting the way the streets grew more damaged the further they walked. Roofs and walls were crumbling, entire buildings covered in black soot. Fire Nation soldiers stood at every corner, komodo rhino caravans taking up the entire road as they passed. Ba Sing Se didn’t look like itself anymore now that it was occupied by the enemy. It was supposed to be the safest city on earth...so if the Fire Nation could take it overnight, what did that mean? 

As they neared the outer wall, the girls could see that a massive part of it had been torn down. It was crawling with troops, soldiers eyeing them as they followed the commander along to a large machine in the center of all the commotion. A distinguished, greying man turned to look at them as they approached, the commander and captain both immediately bowing. 

“War Minister Ching,” the commander said as he straightened up. “These are the individuals you asked for.”

“About time,” Ching said impatiently. “I’ll inform the Golden Dragon immediately. Take them to an open vehicle. We plan to depart momentarily.”

“Yes, sir.” the commander bowed again before tugging Min and the girls along again. This time, they were brought to a war machine, the captain shoving them inside before walking away. The commander gave them a nod, then closed the door, leaving them alone inside the strange metal contraption. 

“What’s going on?” Fen whimpered, sitting down on the floor. 

“I don’t know.” Min said, doing the same. “But I don’t like it.”

“Are they really just handing us over to that monster?” Chun asked. “Are we slaves now? They do that to Earth Kingdom girls, don’t they?”

“It’s going to be okay,” Min said, her shaky voice betraying her confident facade. “We have to just...stay hopeful.”

“How?” Chun argued. “Everything is fucked!”

“I don’t know, but we have to just--” 

Min was interrupted by an angry voice outside. 

“I want to see them for myself!” it snarled. 

“G-Golden Dragon, please, trust me, I saw them with my own eyes and they’re perfectly fine--”

“Are you challenging me, War Minister?” the first voice asked angrily. 

“No, of course not, but please, we must get going--”

“Step aside and let me see them!”

There was a moment of silence, and then the door swung open. Two figures peered into the war machine, the smaller one sticking their head inside. When Min saw a familiar face, her jaw dropped in shock. 

“Oh, good. Ching wasn’t lying.” the woman said. 

None of the girls could find words, their eyes wide as they stared at the person before them. She looked just how they remembered, but now, those thick black claws and bright yellow cat eyes seemed foreign and wicked. The sight of her wasn’t comforting like it used to be, especially not when she was dressed in Fire Nation colors. 

“Look, I know this isn’t ideal, but it’s the best I could do for you. These machines really aren’t that bad after the first couple hours. Maybe you can just sleep until we get to the ships.”

“K-Kaida?” Fen whimpered. “What’s going on?”

At the sound of her name, she paused. Then, she seemed to collect herself, aware that the War Minister was standing just behind her. “My name isn’t Kaida. It’s Yzako. I’m sure we’ll talk more when we get to the Fire Nation.”

With that, she was gone, the door closing behind her again. The girls could only stare, sitting in silence as the machine lurched forward, an engineer driving them away from their home and off towards a terrifying, confusing, and uncertain future. 


	58. Heading Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost to book iii so I'm gonna just pop these last two bad boys up real quick because they're short anyways!

“Hey, you,” Yzako called, walking across the deck. The sky was dark, the sea air cool as it ruffled the hood of her robe. It felt like it had been ages since she had been on a ship, and Azula’s royal sloop was both familiar and intimidating. It was far bigger than the little boat Zuko had once lorded over, gold coating its tall tower and the sharp, two-pronged bow that cut into the night sky. 

Zuko turned with a sigh. He was standing at the rail, staring at the quickly disappearing Earth Kingdom coast. After a day of traveling in war machines, he was glad for the fresh air, but conflicted about the rest of the journey. They were growing ever closer to the Fire Nation and, more importantly, his father, and while he had eventually demanded to read Ozai’s letter for himself, he still couldn’t believe that he was finally going home. 

“Hey.” he said quietly as he saw Yzako standing behind him. 

“You look lonely.” she walked forward, leaning up on her toes to give him a kiss. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I noticed that,” she laughed. “Worried?”

Zuko nodded. “I haven’t been home in years. How much has changed?”

Yzako shrugged. “Probably not as much as you think. The palace is still crawling with advisors and ministers and the Fire Lord barely leaves the throne room.”

At the mention of his father, Zuko let out a heavy sigh. “I still can’t believe it. He wants me to come home, finally, after so long...how do I know he isn’t going to kill me?”

“I don’t know what Azula told him, but maybe taking the avatar down  _ and  _ conquering Ba Sing Se on the very same day was enough to impress him.” Yzako said. “Maybe he actually will welcome you with open arms.”

“Are you scared of what he’s going to say to you?” He looked down at her. 

“Yes.” She admitted. “The palace was where I suffered the most, but...he was also kind to me.”

“My father has a habit of doing that.” Zuko said bitterly. “It’s like he can’t make up his mind about whether someone is useful to him or not.”

“It probably changes.” Yzako leaned her head on his arm. “I’ve been worried about being punished again.”

“I won’t let him do anything to you,” Zuko growled.

Yzako smiled sadly. He was determined to protect her, as if he wasn’t the one who needed her help the most. If he only knew how much she had just sacrificed for his sake, maybe he would be saying something different...but she wanted to see him happy and on the throne someday, and if that meant suffering in silence, she was willing to take it. “I belong to the throne. I don’t think much can be done about that. I’ll be at Ozai’s mercy, so...I just have to keep making myself useful.”

Zuko frowned at her words. He didn’t like the sound of any of that.

“But come on. Let’s stay positive.” Yzako said. “I got to check on Min and the others today. They’re all unharmed.”

“I can’t believe you’re bringing them with us,” Zuko groaned. “I won’t even be able to rest in my own home…”

“I made Min a promise that if I ever got myself to a better place than the lower ring, I would take her with me.”

“Why does that have to mean you literally take her along?”

“Because it was my only option! Don’t be so grouchy about it. They love you.”

“They love Lee.” He said. “Not me.”

Yzako’s face fell. He was right. Everyone in Ba Sing Se knew them by fake names and thought that they were refugees. Now, at least four members of the lower ring were about to learn exactly whom they had befriended. Would they be angry? When they saw Yzako earlier that day, they had all been shocked. How much worse would it be when she finally got the chance to explain herself? 

“I still wanted to keep my promise.” She said stubbornly. “And this way, they’ll be safe no matter what happens to Ba Sing Se.”

“So what? You’re planning on keeping them around as servants? My father won’t let them have the run of the palace.”

“I’ll...figure that out when we get there.” She huffed. 

“They’ll probably be collared, just like you.”

Yzako snorted angrily, a little puff of steam blowing out of her nostrils. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way!” Zuko said quickly. 

“Then how did you mean it?” she asked haughtily. “Because I can’t think of any other way that could possibly sound.”

Zuko sighed. “I was just trying to say that...you know.”

“They won’t be free?” her tone was bitter. 

“...Yeah.”

When Zuko looked down and avoided her angry glare, Yzako’s gaze softened. “Sorry. I know you didn’t mean it. I’m just...a little on edge, I guess.”

“So am I.”

Her eyes moved to look out over the water. “I’m looking forward to a nice bed again.”

Zuko smiled a little and glanced up at her. “Maybe I can convince my father to let us share a room.”

“I miss the one I used to stay in,” she sighed dramatically. “It was so big, and the bed was so comfy...not to mention the  _ bath….” _

“You had a bath in your chambers?” Zuko asked. 

“Yes. Why?”

“Because the guest rooms don’t have those.”

Yzako froze, eyes wide. 

“What room did you stay in, Yzako?”

“Uh…”

He gave her one of those looks, like he was completely exasperated. “Where did my father keep you?”

“In...your chambers….”

Part of him wanted to be angry at the thought of Ozai letting someone else stay in his old room, but another part of him liked the idea of Yzako keeping his bed warm while he was away from home. “Maybe that’s a good thing. If you were already sleeping there, he might let you stay.”

“I hope you’re right.” she leaned her head on his shoulder again. “Do you remember what you used to say?”

“I used to say a lot of things.” he smiled, turning to pull her against his chest. “What in particular?”

“About how when we got back to the Fire Nation someday, you’d court me properly.” she bit her lip nervously. “Are you, uh...still going to do that?”

Zuko pressed a kiss against her hair. “I fully intend to, yes.”

Her heart skipped a beat. After going through so much, she still felt like a young girl with a crush on the handsome boy at school. Zuko gave her butterflies, making her chest flutter whenever he said just the right words. 

“How does that work?” she asked, trying not to sound completely inexperienced and naive. “I’ve never exactly done that…”

He chuckled, taking her hand in his. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“But I wanna know!” she pouted. 

“You’ll get expensive gifts, I’ll tell you that much.”

Yzako’s face lit up. “Like what?”

“That’s a surprise.”

“Come on, give me a hint at least--”

He silenced her with a kiss, a hand on her jaw. She melted into it, smiling against Zuko’s lips as she leaned on his chest. Even if everything else went to shit, she at least had him with her, alive and in one piece. That was enough for Yzako. 

“It’s getting cold,” Zuko said quietly, pulling away to take a breath. “We should go to bed.”

She nodded, holding onto his hand as he led her to their room in the ship’s tower. It was nicer than the one they had stayed in during their first travels together, the bed larger, more candles littering the corners and walls. Being just down the hall from Azula, they didn’t dare get up to anything, the princess’s mere presence enough to keep the two from getting intimate, but they were happy enough to just lie in each other’s arms. 

“What’s going to happen when we get back?” Yzako wondered out loud, her head resting on her lover’s chest. 

“Feasts. Some kind of military celebration.” Zuko answered. “I don’t know. I’m sure Azula is going to tell us, and if she doesn’t someone else will.”

“What does that mean for me?”

“You played a part in bringing Ba Sing Se to its knees. You’ll probably be expected to appear before the troops. Maybe even the entire city will be there.”

“It’ll be a show of power,” she realized. Just like everything else involving her and Kul. 

“Most likely.” Zuko shrugged. “When generals would come home from war victorious, they were given smaller feasts and festivals. When something exciting happens to a member of the royal family, the celebrations are bigger. This will probably be huge.”

“Are you excited for it?”

He looked down at her, a hand rubbing her back. “A bit, yeah. For years, all I’ve ever wanted was to be welcomed home a hero. Now that it’s happening, I don’t know how to feel.”

Yzako nodded slightly, tucking her head under his chin. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t let anything happen to you.” She yawned. 

Zuko tucked a strand of hair behind Yzako’s ear, a small smile playing on his lips. “Are you going to protect me?”

“What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?” She asked sleepily. “Gotta keep you outta trouble.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing? Because it seems like you’re pretty good at getting  _ yourself  _ into trouble.”

“Shut up,” She mumbled, already slipping into sleep. 

Zuko snorted a laugh. Yzako could be so quick to pass out sometimes. She loved sleep more than any other firebender he knew, rarely waking up with the sun the way he did. When left to her own devices, Yzako could very easily sleep until noon. It wasn’t normal for a firebender to waste so much sunlight, but for her, it didn’t seem to matter; she was happy to laze around like a big cat, moving at her own pace even if it didn’t match up with the rest of the world’s. Zuko envied her for it; though he usually woke up early on his own and didn’t hate it in the slightest, he wished he knew what it was like to just disregard things until the sun was high in the sky and the day was already well underway. 

Now, Yzako was sleeping soundly on his chest, and he knew that if it were up to her, he would be trapped there until late morning at the earliest. Whenever he moved and tried to get comfortable, she grumbled quietly, tightening her grip and poking her claws into him as if trying to keep him from running. Was she so afraid of losing him that she thought about it, even in her dreams?

Zuko smiled, putting a hand over hers as he felt her flex to stab him with her nails again. He found it endearing, no matter how beastly it might seem. It was a habit that was distinctly Yzako, something that he honestly hoped she never stopped doing, no matter how annoying it was when she managed to draw blood. Besides, it was nowhere  _ near _ close to the savagery of her claws tearing up his back when they fucked, and he enjoyed that sensation well enough. This was nothing compared to that.

With Yzako out of commission for the night, Zuko was left alone with his thoughts. After years away from home, he was finally returning. After years of banishment, he was about to regain his title and honor. After multiple attempts to have him killed, his father was welcoming him with open arms. It was a lot to take in, especially all at once, and Zuko was beginning to think that there was no way he could analyze it all and try to think it through.

Maybe he shouldn’t look a gift ostrich horse in the mouth; after all, he  _ had  _ helped Azula take down the avatar. If his sister had mentioned that when she wrote to their father, that could explain why Ozai was behaving so warmly towards him. Perhaps he had finally proven his usefulness, and the Fire Lord was acknowledging his son’s strength. This could be Zuko’s chance to rejoin the royal family, regain his title, and show everyone that he was loyal to his country. 

With Yzako at his side, he doubted anyone would dare speak against him. Now that the Golden Dragon’s might had been witnessed by the people of Ba Sing Se, news of her power would travel throughout the Fire Nation quickly. He was sure someone would write at least one song about the dragon conquering the Earth Kingdom, commemorating the fall of the city with a holiday and big golden statues that could never even come close to portraying Kul’s real power. Yzako would become a legend, the Fire Lord’s right hand, a symbol of the Fire Nation’s strength. 

And as for Zuko...he could also go down in history. He had a chance now to redeem himself and prove to his father that he deserved to be his successor. If Ozai saw how much his son had grown and learned during his banishment, he was bound to recognize his value. Then, when Zuko was in his good graces, he would be able to court Yzako and eventually ask for her hand in marriage. They would have a big, royal wedding, with the entire Fire Nation watching. She would get to wear the nicest gowns and the finest jewelry. She would have everything she ever wanted, and their lives would be perfect someday, more perfect than they could ever be while hiding in Ba Sing Se. 

Zuko still felt like something was missing, though. A perfect future was a nice thought, but the events of the past few days were bothering him. How did Azula grab Yzako in Ba Sing Se in the first place? Zuko’s sister was a conniving liar known for her tactical prowess, always two steps ahead of everyone else. Had she planned all of this from the start? There was no way she was that good...right? He couldn’t understand how Azula would profit from her brother returning home instead of killing him and making herself an only child, but she was far too calculating for him to ever keep up with. He would have to take things day by day and just see what happened next.

With a sigh, Zuko closed his eyes. He had to at least try to sleep. Azula’s sloop was fast, cutting through the water quicker than any other ship in the world. It was the pride and joy of the navy, a technological wonder that had been in the works long before Zuko was banished. It wouldn’t take them long to reach the capital, and when they did, he would need to be ready.


	59. Nightmares

Iroh wasn’t even angry with everything that had happened. 

He was disappointed.

He was disappointed in his niece and nephew, in his country, in the Fire Lord. He was disappointed when he saw the state Yzako had left Ba Sing Se in. He was disappointed when he was told he would be taken to the royal prison to live out the rest of his days in confinement.

He was disappointed, and it was weighing down on his conscience in a way that couldn’t be healthy. Iroh needed to find peace of mind if he had any hope of continuing on. What was done was done, and as much as he didn’t like the events surrounding Ba Sing Se’s capture, he knew he had to keep moving forward if he wanted to get anything useful done. There was no time to waste on mourning the loss of his favorite city. 

Still, he was deeply bothered, and with nothing else to think about during the trip back to the Fire Nation, he found himself thinking about all that had just happened. 

When he had last seen Yzako, he was certain she had some sort of plan. It was clear that Azula had trapped her somehow, but it seemed that the Golden Dragon had enough good in her to do something, anything, to fight back...but then she didn’t. She became the very instrument of destruction that the Fire Lord needed to truly crush the Earth Kingdom. When Iroh had realized just how deep Azula’s claws cut into the Golden Dragon, he knew it was only a matter of time before Yzako’s power was abused and something terrible happened. Part of him had expected Ba Sing Se to burn, and he had braced himself for the possibility of the city falling. 

It was Zuko’s betrayal that really caught Iroh off guard. He had sided with Azula so easily, taking the avatar down with his sister as if nothing over the past few months had changed his outlook on life. Was their suffering and hardship all for nothing? Was Zuko truly so stubborn that he would flip like a coin and ruin everything he had worked for in an instant? 

Iroh shook his head. He couldn’t rely on Zuko to make the right decisions, and he could only hope that Yzako would hold back the next time Azula or Ozai pointed her towards a new target. She had immense power, and now that the Fire Lord was beginning to see just how much, he was sure to use every last ounce of it. 

Iroh wished he could speak with her, but he was trapped in the brig, his wrists and ankles shackled so that he couldn’t try to escape. He didn’t want to, anyways; where would he go? They were in the middle of the ocean, and even he wouldn’t be able to overpower everyone on that ship without Yzako’s help, and there was no guarantee that Azula wouldn’t force her to go after him. So, instead of trying to break out, he continued on with his thinking.

He needed a plan. He wasn’t about to let himself rot away in prison for the rest of his life, not when so much was at stake. The White Lotus needed him, as well as Yzako, and yes, even Zuko still needed his uncle’s guidance, whether he wanted it or not. There was so much the young prince didn’t know about his heritage and the Fire Nation, and perhaps learning would help him realize why the war was wrong. Even Iroh himself had grown up thinking that their country was doing a good thing by trying to conquer the world; as a young man, he wanted nothing more than honor and glory, much like every other member of the royal family. The difference was that he had grown after his long, grueling attempt to take Ba Sing Se, and he had seen the suffering the Fire Nation was causing. 

There was no need for such pain and grief to continue in the world, especially not after so many years of it. Zuko should know that now. He should have seen what the people of the Earth Kingdom were suffering through, and chosen to help them instead of conquering them. Iroh’s nephew was stubborn and confused, though, and couldn’t understand that his destiny was his own, and not one that his father chose for him. What would Ozai do to him? After ordering his death multiple times, would the Fire Lord allow him back home so easily?

Iroh narrowed his eyes as he stared ahead into his dimly-lit cell. For as wise as he was, there were some things that even he couldn’t anticipate, and it seemed that he would have to wait and see what happened before drawing any conclusions. If there was one thing he was going to have a lot of, it would be time to think and plot out a course of action. 

Iroh was determined to spend his time in jail much the same way he spent his days; playing an old fool who was slowly losing his mind with age. He had the advantage of knowing how the royal prison worked, and he could guess that the guards would all see him as nothing more than a crazy senior citizen who had turned his back on his country. After all, he was a traitor, the once great Dragon of the West falling from grace and landing hard as an enemy of the Fire Nation. He could work with that, though--if they thought he was just a senile old man, no one would anticipate just how powerful he could be when he wanted. If he played his cards right and moved accordingly, he would be able to spend his time in solitary confinement training and preparing for what was to come. 

With the Day of Black Sun coming up, Iroh knew that the resistance—whatever was left of it by then—would no doubt make a move on the capital city. They would be foolish not to. Whether the avatar was alive or not, there was bound to be an attack, and that could be his best chance to escape and gather the White Lotus. There was no way of knowing what kind of state the rest of the world would be in by that point, but it was the only glimmer of hope Iroh could see in the near future. He could only hope that the Fire Lord didn’t anticipate any kind of bold attack, and he could only pray that that attack came after all. 

No matter what happened to Yzako and Zuko, Iroh would need to do what he could to help sway the balance of the war, and quickly, for the sake of every living being in the entire world. 

  
  


—

  
  


Yzako’s dreams that night started out pleasant. She was comfortable, enjoying herself as she floated in a peaceful limbo. Kul was there, his big, warm body wrapped around her as he snored away, exhaling little puffs of steam and smoke. The two of them were surrounded by fire, the heat comfortable, the light dim. Yzako didn’t know where she was. Maybe it was the throne room? Regardless, she didn’t really care; no matter where she was, it was a nice reprieve from the events of the past few days. 

Then, suddenly, she was drowning in the sound of screams. 

The flames around her were full of burning bodies, Ba Sing Se’s citizens shrieking and crying out for help. She shot up, looking around as their voices grew louder and louder, her eyes wide with horror at the sight of more and more people appearing. Yzako could only watch as they became little more than melting flesh and charred bones, their skin burning and sloughing off their skeletons. This was a dream, right? This had to be a dream. 

It had to be.

She couldn’t look away, eyes glued to the nightmarish scene around her. It felt so real, it  _ sounded _ so real, it  _ smelled _ so real...and she couldn’t free herself from it. Was this her new reality? Would she have to live like this, plagued by nightmares that reminded her of what she had done? Yzako shook her head, trying to make it stop, squeezing her eyes shut only for the screams to get louder and louder. She felt like she was drowning in them, her hands trembling as she held them up to her ears in an attempt to save herself from the ghosts of Ba Sing Se.

“N-No,” she whimpered, huddling in a ball and trying to make herself as tiny as possible as if she would be able to hide from the burning corpses around her. “Go away!”

_ “You did this to us,” _ a voice hissed. 

“Leave me alone,” Yzako whispered. 

_ “You can’t control yourself.” _

_ “Never could.” _

_ “Murderer.” _

_ “Monster!” _

“I said LEAVE ME ALONE!” Yzako roared, opening her eyes again. 

She was back in her room on Azula’s ship, the smell of smoke curling into her nose as she tried to catch her breath. Her forehead was covered in a cold sweat, her skin clammy as she looked around wildly. It was dim, but as Yzako began to focus on the world around her, she saw that one of the candles on the wall had caught a Fire Nation banner ablaze. Had she accidentally done that? Probably. 

With a sigh, she snuffed it out, bending the flames back down where they belonged. The cloth banner was badly singed, but somehow, she really didn’t have any problem with that. Azula would probably be angry at the sight of it, but Yzako could care less about Fire Nation propaganda at the moment. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

Yzako jumped at the sound of the voice, peering over the edge of the bed. Zuko was on the floor, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up. 

“What are you doing down there?” Yzako asked. 

“What are you doing screaming in the middle of the night?” he snapped.

She frowned. “I had a nightmare…”

Zuko’s harsh gaze softened and he crawled back to bed, motioning for her to lay with him. “Sorry. You just startled me.”

Yzako snuggled up against him, tucking her head under his chest. “Sorry I screamed.”

“What were you dreaming about?” he pulled the sheets over them, his hand settling on the side of her neck. 

“Nothing.” she mumbled, pressing her face against his bare skin. Yzako inhaled deeply, trying to clear the smell of burning flesh from her nose. 

“You can tell me.” Zuko said quietly, running his fingers through her hair. He could feel that she was still holding herself rigidly, her body stiff and anxious even as she laid with him. “Want me to braid it?”

After a pause, Yzako nodded, sitting up as his hands guided her gently. She sat in his lap silently, hugging the sheets to her chest as Zuko began combing through her long black tresses. His movements were calm and slow, and as he began braiding, Yzako could feel herself starting to relax slightly. This was real. Her dream wasn’t. This was her reality, not the melting bodies that had burned themselves into her mind. This was who she was, not a vicious, monstrous killer. 

When he had finished with her hair, Zuko pulled Yzako back against him, leaning his cheek on the top of her head as he leaned on the headboard. She had calmed down significantly, her breaths evening out and her heartbeat slowing. Zuko didn’t particularly  _ want _ to sleep sitting up, but as Yzako began to doze, he realized that he was going to be stuck there for the rest of his night. 

With a deep sigh, he tightened his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her head. “Goodnight, love.”

He didn’t expect her to respond, and for a moment, he was afraid he had woken her. Yzako stirred slightly, shifting and pulling the sheets tighter around herself. 

“I was dreaming about ghosts,” she mumbled, half asleep.

Zuko felt a chill run down his spine, but he didn’t want to think about it. “It’s okay. They’re gone. I promise.”

“Mhm. They’re gone.” she was already slipping into slumber. “G’night, Zuko.”

Something about her words unsettled him. With a deep sigh, he pushed any thoughts about Ba Sing Se, the avatar, and his uncle out of his mind, instead falling into a deep sleep with Yzako clinging to his chest. He was safe. They were both alive and well, and he was safe. The journey back to the Fire Nation would be over soon enough, and then he would be able to enjoy his own bed and all the comforts of royal living again. 

Everything was going to be fine.

END OF BOOK II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it!! The end of book ii! We're on our way back to the Fire Nation, and big things are coming. What do you think is gonna happen??


	60. End of Book II Author's Note

Welcome to the end of Book II, and the start of Book III! While I've had a vague idea of how this fic would go from the start, I never imagined that it would get this massive, be written so quickly, and receive so much positive attention! I'm so floored by how much people love Yzako and her story. I have truly never written something this long, and the doc I keep it in is at 400 pages already. It has been such a joy to spend my time in quarantine writing and sharing this with all of you, and I hope it's been bringing happiness and entertainment to your lives! Every comment, kudos, and bookmark makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Yzako means so much to me, and watching her grow and change as I write has been so cool and rewarding. While I always go into chapters with a plan, I also like to see where things go on their own, and I think that's been working pretty well! It's also very fun looking back at the beginning of this story and seeing how different Yzako was. I can't wait to see where she ends up! 

I'm not sure how long it'll take to finish this fic. It might only be another month, it might be two, who knows! I love being able to update daily or every other day, so we'll see what happens. One thing I know for sure is that there will be some epilogue action after the main plot eventually wraps up, and I might do some stuff to follow the ATLA comics (especially finding Ursa!) but I'm not sure if those will be in this fic, or in a sequel, so we'll figure that out when we get there. I also want to write a bunch of drabbles and maybe kinktober-style thingies once I finish the main story! 

So anyways, thanks again for reading and following this beast of a fanfic. It really means so much to me, and I hope everybody enjoys book iii! 


	61. A Hero's Welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOOOOOOOO BOOK III HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO

Yzako hadn’t expected a hero’s welcome. At most, she thought she would just slip past while Zuko and Azula received all the attention, reporting straight to the Fire Lord and then awaiting whatever punishment he decided to dish out. But when Azula’s ship docked, there were palanquins waiting for not only the prince and princess, but Yzako, War Minister Ching, and Mai and Ty Lee as well. Yzako’s was golden, clearly prepared days in advance, and as the bearers carried her along in the royal procession to the palace, she was shocked by the response it was getting. 

The streets were lined with Fire Nation citizens cheering from behind a row of soldiers. Their voices were deafening, and when Yzako poked her head out to look at them, they grew even louder. They were screaming for her, absolutely losing their minds over the tiniest glimpse of the mysterious Golden Dragon. 

She quickly closed the curtain, sitting back on her cushions with disbelief written across her face. Her palanquin was third in line behind Azula and Zuko, but it almost seemed as if she was getting more attention. Everyone was clamoring for a look at the girl who had destroyed Ba Sing Se, rumors of her spreading quickly throughout the city as soon as news of the massive military victory had reached the island. Now she had...fans?

It was a concept she wasn’t used to, and she certainly hadn’t anticipated it. After wrestling with her nightmares and moral compass for the past few days, seeing so many people blindly cheering for her felt just as wrong as it did good, and quite frankly, it was confusing. She was just glad that she had been given new robes to change into the moment they reached Capital Island, finally able to change into her beloved golden silks. If her new fans were going to gaze upon her, they were going to see her as she wanted to be seen, not in borrowed outfits or Earth Kingdom garb. Yzako was determined to look good in front of everyone, her vanity and love of shiny things far outweighing her worries. 

It was only when they reached the palace steps that the palanquin bearers finally lowered onto their knees, signaling that it was time for Yzako to get out. When she gathered her robes and emerged through the thin white fabric that hid her from the world, she was met by Zuko. He took her hand, helping her step down even though he knew fully well that she didn’t need any assistance. 

Yzako leaned on him anyways, giving him a curious look but keeping her mouth shut in front of so many soldiers and advisors. She hadn’t expected him to be so open with his affections, at least not immediately...but she wasn’t about to start complaining. The prince pressed a kiss against her knuckles, and for a moment, she found herself lost in his eyes. She had never seen him like this, with a full head of hair pulled up into a topknot and dressed in layers of red Fire Nation silks. He looked like royalty again. He looked like himself again. 

“Golden Dragon, Prince Zuko,” an advisor said, approaching them quickly. He stopped and bowed low before continuing. “Welcome home. The Fire Lord has requested the presence of the Golden Dragon later today, after he meets with Princess Azula.”

Her stomach immediately dropped. When she glanced up at Zuko, he was unhelpful, his expression neutral and impossible to read. Okay, so she would be alone in this. That was fine. She couldn’t handle whatever Ozai threw at her. She had done it before, and she would do it again. 

“Please, follow me to your chambers. Your handmaids will see to it that you are bathed and dressed appropriately.”

The man turned, walking up the steps briskly. Yzako and Zuko shared an uncertain look before following him, and Yzako got to watch as the prince stepped into his old home for the first time in years. He was stiff, his shoulders squared as they strode through the massive corridors, their steps echoing through the halls. They drew the attention of generals and advisors, everyone stopping to stare and then quickly lower themselves into bows as they passed. Yzako could hear them whispering about Zuko, their voices hushed, but not enough to escape her ears. 

_ “Is that really him?”  _ a man asked. 

_ “It has to be. Look at the scar. A few years away and he’s grown into a man now.” _

_ “Must have been some victory at Ba Sing Se for his father to allow him back here alive. I never thought I’d see the day, after that agni kai.” _

Yzako’s eyes narrowed. Zuko showed no signs of hearing the men, his scarred ear turned towards them, but she was picking up every word. Should she say something? Could she get away with it? After getting her own palanquin and discovering she was popular, she felt like she could do whatever she wanted and not get herself in any trouble...but she knew that wasn’t true. She just quickened her pace to keep up with the advisor, hurrying along and trying to ignore the voices behind her. 

_ “The prince looks just like his mother, doesn’t he?” _

Yzako’s eyes widened again and she glanced over to make sure Zuko hadn’t heard. He was still staring ahead, his jaw tense but his expression unchanging. Good. At least these old assholes couldn’t make him more nervous than he already was. 

“Your chambers,” the advisor said when they reached a familiar door.

Two maids were standing outside of it, bowing. Yzako was happy to see that Jin was one of them, her relief mirrored on the servants’ face. 

“Are we staying together?” Zuko asked the advisor haughtily. 

“Yes, my prince. Fire Lord Ozai insisted.”

“Good.” he growled, walking past the maids to view his old room. 

Yzako followed, the girls trailing behind and closing the door. There were a few more servants waiting for them, some holding towels, others gripping hot massage stones in their hands. At the thought of a hot bath, Yzako practically started purring, rushing towards them while Zuko stood back and stared at the room around him. It was just how he remembered, but most of his belongings had been hidden away and replaced with Fire Nation memorabilia; where his old toys once sat on tables, there were golden dragon statues; where landscape paintings once hung on the walls, there were massive, snarling dragon portraits. The only thing that had been left in its rightful place was a small bonsai tree Uncle Iroh had once given him, clearly still carefully tended to by servants. 

“Jin, I have missed you and our baths  _ so  _ much.” Yzako ignored Zuko’s silent musings and pulled her surprised maid into a hug. 

After a moment, she laughed. “I missed you too, Lady Yzako.”

“You wouldn’t  _ believe  _ how hard it is to get a hot bath in Ba Sing Se.” Yzako said, hurrying over to a changing screen in the corner. 

Zuko finally turned to watch her, his face relaxing into an amused smile. He was finally getting to see how she behaved in the palace, and so far, it was exactly as he had expected. She was already trying to wriggle out of her clothing, determined to get to the bath as soon as possible. 

“Is it, My Lady?” Jin asked as she followed with a wide grin on her face. 

“It’s  _ awful. _ ” 

The other servants all laughed quietly, the atmosphere in the room settling into something much less tense. Zuko was surprised to see how much they all enjoyed Yzako, but then again, she was always good with the commoners. Jin accompanied her behind the screen, untying her obi and handing it off to one of the girls. 

“I had to go to this expensive day spa in the upper ring whenever I wanted any kind of pampering.” Yzako said. “And it was always busy.”

“There’s nothing better than relaxing in your own bath,” Jin said. 

“I agree!”

Zuko could just barely see Yzako’s head over the top of the screen, her topknot bobbing comically as she tried to hurry the unclothing process. She was animated, her antics putting smiles on the servants’ faces in a way he had never witnessed before. Usually, they were reserved and silent, speaking only when asked to. They were often scared of the royal family, because they knew that even one step out of line could result in death. With Yzako, though, they all seemed happy, as if they had been friends for years. 

“How long were you in Ba Sing Se, My Lady?” one of them asked. 

“A while.” Yzako shrugged. “It isn’t easy infiltrating and then conquering a city, you know.”

“So you really did it?” another asked excitedly. “You destroyed the Earth Kingdom capital?”

Yzako poked her eyes out over the top of the screen to look at her. She knew she needed to keep her story straight while she was in the palace. No one there, not even her loyal handmaidens, needed to hear that she had legitimately tried to lead a happy and simple new life away from the Fire Nation. “Yeah, I did. Zuko and Azula were the ones who took down the avatar and really set things in motion, though. I just did the heavy lifting.”

At the mention of his name, their eyes all turned to Zuko. The air was suddenly tense again, as if they had forgotten he was still there until they were reminded. He stood as tall as he could, all of his days dealing with Min and the rest of them having taught him that as scary as packs of girls could be, he was entirely capable of handling them without blushing. 

“P-Prince Zuko,” one of the maids said, bowing quickly. “It’s an honor to have you back home.”

They were all staring at him, frightened expressions on their faces. Jin was glad to have the excuse of helping Yzako undress so that she didn’t have to face the prince's wrath in the event that they had pissed him off. They all knew of his banishment, of course, and a few were aware of Ozai’s orders to have him killed before he had been labeled a dangerous traitor. Seeing him standing there, alive and free of shackles, was something they had never expected, and seeing him enter the room with the very person who was supposed to assassinate him was even wilder. 

His eyes were raking over them slowly, his gaze controlled and difficult to read. Was he angry? Was he about to kill one of them? He would be within his rights to. The prince had never been cruel, not like Azula or Ozai, but he had just returned from years of banishment. He could do anything. 

“It’s an honor to be back.” he finally said. 

The room was filled with audible sighs of relief. 

“Would you also like a bath, Prince Zuko?” one of them asked, springing into action. 

“The bathing room has been renovated since you were last here, your highness!”

As they ushered him towards the changing screen on the other side of the room, he felt his resolve crumbling. Maybe Min hadn’t made him as tough as he thought. Even though they were his own servants, his cheeks were flushing as they began helping him undress, and his blush only got redder with each article of clothing that left his body. Perhaps Yzako had made them all  _ too  _ comfortable with their masters. 

“This way, My Lady,” Jin said, wrapping Yzako in a towel offered by another girl and leading her to the adjoined bathing room. “We drew a bath just before you came in.”

Yzako practically melted as she saw the steam rising off the water. “Oh, you are  _ divine, _ Jin.”

“I’m just happy to see you back, Lady Yzako.” Jin said as Yzako dropped her towel and sank into the tiny pool. “And in one piece.”

Yzako frowned slightly. She could barely remember a time when she floated in that very bath, barely conscious--barely _ alive-- _ and covered in ugly black and blue bruises from the torturers in the dungeons. Jin had been the one to nurse her back to health.  _ Jin _ had been the one to take care of her and comb out her hair.  _ Her servant _ had saved her from the brink of death. 

“I’m glad, too.” Yzako finally said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. “Add some of that nice bath bean, will you?”

“Of course, My Lady.” Jin bowed her head, picking up a small wooden bowl from next to the bath and sprinkling a powder into the water. “We made sure to order plenty of your favorite vanilla bean powder as soon as we heard you were returning. This was made fresh this morning.”

As the powder mixed with the bath, Yzako sighed, her nostrils filling with the scents of vanilla and chai. “Perfect.”

“Soooo, Lady Yzako,” one of the other girls said, tiptoeing into the room quickly. “Tell us what happened!”

Yzako cracked an eye open as a third maid sat behind her, picking her head up to wash her hair. “With what? Ba Sing Se?”

“No, with Prince Zuko! Quick, before he comes in!”

Yzako stifled a loud laugh with her hand. Something about her demeanor had to be making the girls act up. They had never been quite this friendly or comfortable with her before, and their banter was just making her wish that she could see Min and the others quicker. “What about him?”

“Well, he’s not dead, for starters.” Jin hissed. 

“Did you fall in love?” the first girl asked, laying down next to the bath with her chin in her hands and a dreamy look in her eyes. “We haven’t seen him in  _ years, _ and he’s  _ so _ grown up now…”

“I’m  _ so _ jealous of his servants right now,” the girl washing Yzako’s hair said. “It’s such an honor to touch royalty. A-and you, of course, Lady Yzako!”

She snorted. “I’m sure it is. But to answer your question...yes.” she was thinking quickly, trying to get her story straight so that she didn’t mess any of it up. “I followed him to Ba Sing Se, and when it became clear that he was going to aid the Fire Nation and restore his honor, I guess I...fell for him. Again. Yeah.”

“What was he doing there?” Jin asked excitedly. 

“He and General Iroh were running from me. When the time came to make a choice, Zuko helped Azula, and Iroh...didn’t.”

“Oh.” the girl working on her hair said. “That’s a shame. He always had fun stories.”

“Yeah,” Yzako sighed. “He really did.”

  
  


\---

  
  
  


The throne room had never been more intimidating. 

“So, you did it. Just as I expected, you burned the Earth Kingdom to the ground.” The Fire Lord said as Yzako entered through the large doors. “The Golden Dragon has become a hero to the Fire Nation.”

She stopped in front of the throne, hands folded in her sleeves. 

“Bow.” Ozai ordered, his face obscured by flames that jumped higher than ever before.

Yzako obeyed, lowering herself to the floor immediately. She had to show him how well behaved she could be. She had to stay useful and on his good side if she wanted to survive. With no idea what he had planned for her, Yzako knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she had no choice. 

He was almost impressed with her speed and grace. “You failed to kill Prince Zuko. You deliberately disobeyed me for the second time. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Only that were it not for Prince Zuko, Ba Sing Se would never have fallen.” She kept her eyes trained on the floor, choosing her words carefully. 

“Princess Azula told me of Zuko’s actions beneath the city. She spoke very highly of her brother, so much so that I find I have no reason to doubt you.”

Yzako glanced up in surprise. So, Azula  _ had  _ said something, after all...what was she playing at? How would she gain from this? 

“I am glad that your chase pushed Zuko to rethink his actions.” Ozai said. “Were it not for your persistence, I fear he would simply live on in obscurity with his fool of an uncle, a fate far worse and more shameful than execution. Thanks to you, Yzako, my son has had a change of heart, and then did the impossible by killing the avatar. It seems you scared some sense into him.”

Yzako’s heart was pounding, but she had to keep calm enough to survive this meeting and stay in Ozai’s good graces. “Prince Zuko has grown powerful, Fire Lord. I felt that killing him would waste his potential.”

“And you were correct, it seems. Do not feel conflicted, Yzako; I am just as surprised as you.”

She bit her tongue. “His change of heart truly shocked me.”

“Hmph. And what of your  _ heart,  _ Golden Dragon? Did my son’s actions really impress you so much that you returned to your old ways?”

Yzako frowned. “I enjoy his company now.”

“Azula informed me of that, as well. I trust you will enjoy staying together, though I must remind you it is highly unusual for unwedded couples to do so before their engagement.”

“It is not unusual for dragons, though, Fire Lord.” Yzako said bravely. There was the tiniest hint of a threat carefully woven into her voice, and though it was small, Ozai heard it.

He chose to move on.

“We’ll talk more on your...relationship with Prince Zuko later. For now, I wish to see this dragon for myself.” He said. 

Yzako raised her head. “You want to see Kul?”

“I don’t have all day, Yzako.”

She sat up quickly, nodding. “Y-yes, of course.”

Her head rolled back slightly as a familiar energy surged through her, and within moments, the throne room was filled with Kul’s twisting body. It was a good thing the chamber was so massive; the dragon could actually fit inside comfortably, able to hold his head up and stretch himself out.

Ozai gazed up at the beast, eyes shining. He had never seen the dragon for himself, only ever hearing of its majesty from those who managed to glimpse Yzako’s monster and report back to him. Now, as the great serpent looked down at the Fire Lord with huge golden eyes, he knew what Azula meant when she wrote to him about keeping Yzako on their good side, and he understood his father’s obsession with hunting dragons. Kul was powerful, probably the most impressive creature in the world, and the fact that he had so much strength as a spirit now made him even more intimidating. 

“Incredible,” Ozai breathed, the flames around his throne dying down slightly so he could get a better look. 

Yzako watched him with narrowed eyes. He looked like he was enthralled with the dragon as he rose from his throne, his lips splitting into a wide, cruel grin. She knew he wanted her power. She knew he wanted to use it for himself. Now that he was actually seeing Kul up close for the first time, there would be no hiding anything from him anymore. Ozai could see how much stronger she had grown since the first time he summoned her to the palace, and there was no doubt that he was going to exploit that. 

She just needed to make sure he understood that she would only comply if he kept her happy. Maybe he already knew that, and that was why he had immediately allowed her to keep Zuko nearby without putting up any fight. But while Azula had looked terrified of Kul the few times he snarled at her, Ozai was unflinching, his gaze unwavering, as if he thought he could control the monster standing before him. 

Kul’s front legs were positioned on either side of Yzako, allowing him to loom over her protectively, his head lowering to peer at the Fire Lord. His jaws parted, steam billowing from his snout as he locked eyes with the Fire Lord. Ozai was approaching him, walking down the steps that led to his throne and stopping before Yzako. The air was thick with tension, so much that it could practically be cut with a knife, and as Yzako looked up at the man standing before her, she was shocked to see him extending his hand to her. 

“Welcome home, Golden Dragon.” he said, eyes shimmering greedily. “It’s time the Fire Nation saw the face of its hero.”

The hairs on the back of Yzako’s neck were standing on end as she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. His grip was strong, his fingers locking around her wrist almost painfully. He was watching her closely, looking for any sign of weakness in her body language, but she refused to give him any. Just like she had as a child, she stared right into his eyes, holding his gaze steadily. As intimidating as he was, especially up close, she wasn’t going to let him scare her anymore. 

“You will return to me when the ceremony is over.” Ozai said, releasing her wrist. “For now, go show your people who you are.”

Yzako nodded quickly, backing up until she ran into Kul. He gave her a nudge with his snout, growling quietly until she turned and walked stiffly towards the doors. The dragon followed, tucking his wings up against his body and squeezing out into the corridor, much to the shock of the advisors standing outside. 

“L-Lady Yzako!” they immediately bowed. “P-Please, come with us. It’s time for the rally. The prince and princess are already waiting.”

“I’m ready.” Yzako said, following them. 

Kul lumbered along, his claws clicking against the floor with every heavy step. He looked more solid than ever before, the fires lining the corridor reflecting off of his scales and casting him in a golden glow. The halls were empty; presumably, everyone was gathering in the plaza outside, eagerly awaiting more official news about the fall of Ba Sing Se and the chance to catch a glimpse of their heroes. It was nerve wracking, knowing so many people were about to be staring up at her, but as they climbed the stairs of the palace’s central tower, Yzako managed to keep a calm air about her. These were her fans, soldiers and civilians alike who all suddenly idolized her. She wanted to show them exactly why they should put their faith in her and her dragon. 

“The Golden Dragon, your highness,” the advisors said, coming to a stop in front of Zuko and Azula.

The siblings were dressed in black and gold armor, Zuko’s hair pulled back into a topknot that was secured by a golden Fire Nation crown. His expression was neutral, his posture stiff and regal as he turned to look at Yzako approaching. Neither he nor Azula expected to see Kul climbing up behind her, the dragon taking up the entire stairway and somehow looking even more imposing than usual. At the sight of both of them, Zuko relaxed slightly, his shoulders dropping and the tiniest hint of a smile gracing the edges of his lips. 

“Finally,” Azula said impatiently as they reached the top of the stairs. A wall of fire was burning brightly in the large doorway behind the princess, obscuring the blue sky from view. “Took you long enough.” 

“I was speaking with the Fire Lord.” Yzako said haughtily. 

Azula looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but at the mention of her father, she forced a smile onto her face. “Well, no matter. Though not as punctual as I would like, you still made it here on time.”

“Need I remind you that you don’t control me, Azula?” Yzako asked, her tone dangerous and confident. 

Zuko stared. Every time Yzako opened her mouth, he fell a little more in love with her. 

If they hadn’t been in the capital, and if they weren’t about to hold a rally, Azula probably would have attacked her for speaking so rudely. Azula probably also would have lost, something she knew all too well. With a dragon glaring down at her and her advisers, Lo and Li, waiting to get things started, the princess bit her tongue. After all, Yzako was right; now that they were home, Ozai owned the Golden Dragon, and if Azula wanted to play with her, she would have to ask permission. It wasn’t something she liked, but for now, she could handle it. 

As she stepped up next to the prince and princess, Yzako kept her composure, staring forward at the flames. Her hands were folded in her sleeves and she appeared graceful, but in reality, she was struggling to remember every bit of royal etiquette the Fire Sages had ever taught her. Her fingers were wringing together nervously, and the only reason her face seemed calm was because she was sucking her tongue to the roof of her mouth and focusing on Kul. 

The dragon was calm and confident as could be, totally relaxed at the thought of facing hundreds, if not thousands, of onlookers. He was used to being worshipped, memories of his old life flooding both his and Yzako’s minds. On their home island, long before Yzako had been born and Kul had lost his life, he had been revered as a powerful entity, and he was no stranger to crowds of cheering humans. 

Yzako, on the other hand, was not at all used to it. The sages had taught her how to behave in front of royalty, but they had never prepared her for entire rallies like this. Her heart was hammering away at the thought of so many people watching her, no matter how far above the plaza the balcony was.

“Are you ready to begin, your highness?” one of the advisors asked, looking to Zuko. 

When he nodded without so much as a glance towards Azula, the princess’s eyes narrowed. 

“Very well.” the advisor said with a bow. He turned and stepped through the flames, returning a moment later to stand beside Kul. 

_ “Citizens of the Fire Nation, your heroes have returned!”  _ a woman’s voice yelled from the balcony.  _ “Your Princess, Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom’s capital.” _

_ “In Ba Sing Se, she found her brother Zuko, and together they faced the avatar.”  _ another, extremely similar, voice shouted. 

_ “And the avatar fell, and the Earth Kingdom fell!” _ the women said together. 

Azula smirked as she faced the fire, staring ahead at the flames while she watched Yzako out of the corner of her eye. “You may belong to my father, but let’s not forget who brought you home.”

Yzako’s nostrils flared slightly, but she stayed silent. 

_ “Azula’s agents quickly overtook the entire city. As it burned, they went to Ba Sing Se’s great walls and brought--” _

_ “--Them--” _

_ “DOWN!” _

“Lo and Li certainly have a flare for the dramatic.” Azula said. “Wouldn’t you two agree?”

“Yes, they do.” Yzako answered flatly. 

_ “The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the wall and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory!” _

“What about you, Zu Zu?” Azula asked. “How are you feeling today?”

“Fine.” he glared at her. 

“Oh, really? Because you don’t seem all that enthusiastic, brother. This is your big day. You should be happy.”

“I am.” he looked forward again. 

_ “Now, the heroes have returned home! Your Princess, Azula!” _

“Well, try not to dwell on whatever’s eating you.” she said flippantly, her smirk widening as she brushed past his shoulder and strode through the flames. 

As Azula stood at the edge of the balcony, cheers erupted from below. Yzako could see her silhouette, her hands resting on the low golden wall as she looked out over them. 

_ “And after three long years, your prince has returned!” _

Zuko sucked in a breath, walking forward with his hands in fists at his sides. 

_ “ZUKO!” _

The cheering was even louder. 

_ “Your prince and princess conquered the Earth Kingdom against impossible odds!” _ Lo (or Li) yelled. 

_ “With great wit and skill, they tore the capital apart from the inside, while Ba Sing Se fell at the hands of the Fire Nation’s greatest symbol of strength and power.” _

Yzako gulped. 

_ “Presented to you for the first time, Lady Yzako, the Great Golden Dragon, Destroyer of Ba Sing Se and Hero of the Fire Nation!” _

Yzako walked forward, her legs moving on their own. She was vaguely aware of Kul following behind her, the dragon flaring his wings and taking to the sky as soon as they had crossed through the fire. He wrapped himself around the top of the tower, perching on it as his jaws opened and white hot fire poured out. 

The roar of the crowd was deafening, and as Yzako reached the railing, she saw that there were far more spectators than she had thought there would be...and they were all cheering for her. 

She felt the same rush of power and excitement as she had when she was burning Ba Sing Se. It was addictive, spreading through her veins until she couldn’t help but grin widely at the sight of so many people. Citizens and soldiers alike were screaming, chanting her name along with Zuko and Azula’s. 

She fucking loved it. 


	62. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me a little longer than usual to upload! I've been dealing with some personal stuff this week. I'm happy to be back to writing, though!

After the rally, Yzako did as she was told and returned to the throne room. As much as she wanted to cuddle up with Zuko and enjoy some alone time, she decided she would rather play it safe and steal a few kisses before making the journey back through the corridors to meet the Fire Lord again. 

“W-Wait, Golden Dragon, the Fire Lord is conducting a war meeting--”

“Step aside.” she said coldly, glaring up at one of the guards who stood before the massive doors. 

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you--”

“Shut up,” the second guard hissed. “Don’t you know who this is? Let her in!”

His companion stepped aside reluctantly, earning a knock in the shoulder as Yzako shoved the doors open on her own and walked in. Several of the Fire Lord’s top generals were gathered before the throne, like they always used to be whenever she would sit in on meetings. The table they surrounded was small, though, and it became clear that this was merely a quick strategy session rather than a high-profile war meeting. 

They looked up at the intrusion, heads whipping around to stare at whomever had the gall to interrupt such an important occasion, but at the sight of the big dragon following behind Yzako, no one said a word. 

“Ah, Yzako,” Ozai spoke from behind his wall of flames. “I was beginning to wonder what was taking so long.”

Yzako immediately bowed, Kul lowering his head in tandem with her. “I apologize, Fire Lord.”

“I trust you enjoyed your rally?”

“I did, Fire Lord.” Yzako glanced up. Ozai was obscured behind the fire, but she could guess that there was bound to be a smirk on his face. 

“I am glad to hear it.” his voice was calm, perfectly neutral. It wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t cruel, and it was the closest to relaxed that she had ever heard from him. “Rise and take your place before the throne.”

She straightened up, staring at him. There were only two other places to sit, smaller thrones on either side of him that she assumed were for Zuko and Azula. “Where?”

Ozai raised his hand, the flames before him dying down. “There, of course.”

Where the fire had previously been burning, a small black throne was revealed, a heavy golden chain attached to the front of it. Yzako sighed heavily, eyes trained on the polished floor as she walked past the generals, fully aware of the way their curious eyes were burning holes in her back. She hated this. She hated the idea of being chained again. 

But she had no choice. 

“Very good.” Ozai said as Yzako turned and knelt on her little throne. 

She was sitting at the bottom of the steps that led up to him, facing the throne room, nervously turning her back on the Fire Lord despite her every instinct screaming for her not to trust him. The stone was hard, but pleasantly hot, and so expertly carved that Yzako wondered just where it had come from. Had Ozai really ordered someone to make it in the few days before she had arrived in the Fire Nation? How much had he already planned out for her?

Kul walked forward without being asked to, his head low and his lips pulled back in a hiss as he wrapped himself around the Fire Lord’s throne. His big snout came to rest in the fire next to Yzako, his claws slicing into the lacquered wooden floors while his tail stretched all the way down to the generals sitting at the strategy table. 

The dragon let out a dramatic huff, grumbling to himself as he settled in for what he hoped could be a nap. He didn’t enjoy this one bit, but he appreciated the warmth of the fire and the grandeur of the throne room. The generals could stare at him in awe and fear as much as they wanted so long as Ozai didn’t do anything to harm him or his girl. 

“You will stay here with me whenever I call for you.” Ozai said, his voice stern as he looked down at Yzako. “Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“Yes  _ what?” _

“Yes, Fire Lord Ozai.” she kept her voice as level as possible, all too aware that the slightest slip up could result in pain. 

“Excellent. General Shang, continue.”

“Y-yes, Fire Lord Ozai.” A graying general bowed his head and looked back to the table. “Thanks to the Golden Dragon, the Earth Kingdom is ours for the taking. It opens up a brand new supply route for our soldiers on the front lines, right here…”

Yzako sat still, zoning out as the generals spoke. Supply routes weren’t interesting to her, and she would rather have been anywhere else in that moment. She knew she needed to stay quiet and behave as much as she could, but all she wanted was to go find Zuko and stroll through the gardens or do something else nice and calming. She wanted to enjoy her new palace life as much as possible, and she wanted as many distractions from the heavy guilt her actions in Ba Sing Se had caused her as she could find. 

The generals seemed determined to keep reminding her about it, though, constantly drawing her back to their little meeting with mentions of her name and title. Whenever one of them spoke of her, they all looked up at the woman sitting before them, the Fire Lord’s little attack dragon who sat obediently at his feet. Yzako didn’t know what they thought of her, but she  _ did _ know that whenever she made eye contact with one of them, the man would swallow nervously and quickly glance away. 

She loved it. 

She loved the way they were too frightened to even look at her. After hearing of her accomplishments in far more details than most people, they had good reason to be scared. None of them had ever seen someone quite like her, with those wickedly sharp black claws and those piercing cat eyes. Yzako was intimidating on her own, especially as she sat with the Fire Lord looming behind her, but with a massive dragon the likes of which none of them had ever seen before sitting right next to her, the girl was absolutely terrifying. 

The meeting ended quickly, soldiers coming in to remove the war table from view. Yzako hoped that Ozai would finally let her go now that there was no one around for him to intimidate, but when he spoke, his words weren’t exactly the ones she wanted to hear. 

“Show me your bending, Yzako.” he ordered. 

Her back stiffened. “Right here?”

“Yes. Get up and show me the fire that destroyed Ba Sing Se.”

Yzako stifled a sigh and climbed to her feet. “Yes, Fire Lord.”

As she walked to the center of the throne room and turned to face Ozai, Kul picked his head up. When Yzako bowed, more to him than to the Fire Lord, the dragon nodded his head in acknowledgement and blew a small flame out of his mouth towards her. She caught it between her hands, bending the fire until it grew between her fingers, turning into a large ball of flames before she sent it flying into the air with a punch. 

She went through several movements, using the steps that Iroh had taught her months ago and adding onto them. Ozai watched her with those shiny, greedy eyes, smirking as the flames that left her hands grew bigger and more vicious. She was even more powerful now than she had been when she left the palace to hunt Zuko, and it was easy to see how she had destroyed an entire city. Yzako almost seemed to be dancing, in a deadly, brutal way, moving with less precision than Azula ever did but twice the strength of any other firebender Ozai had ever encountered. Yes, it was a very good decision indeed, keeping her alive. She was bound to be useful in this state. 

Yzako was lost in her own bending, her head clear as her muscles worked. It felt good to be able to stretch and move again, and it felt doubly good to be able to firebend without sacking Ba Sing Se. As flames left her fingers and the heat in her chest rose, she felt her mood improving, and she didn’t even care to turn around when she heard the large doors at the end of the room opening. She was too engrossed in her bending, a wide smile on her face that made even Ozai’s smirk settle into something kinder for a moment. There was no greater sight than a firebending master enjoying their own power, and in that moment, Yzako was exhibiting both strength and immense joy. 

She ended her set with a massive blaze of white flames, her nostrils smoking as she caught her breath. Ozai rose from his throne, surprising her with his movement, and looked down at her from it. With Kul laying so close to him, he was even more imposing than normal, the fire around him dancing and reflecting off of the dragon’s golden scales and the Fire Lord’s armor. As Yzako looked up at Ozai, she saw that he was standing with his hands held together, regarding her with a calm expression that was betrayed only by those eager, greedy eyes of his. 

“Excellent show, Golden Dragon.” he said, that smirk back on his face. 

She knitted her eyebrows together. He was speaking as if he had an audience of more than just her. “Thank you, Fire Lord.”

“I am sure everyone else enjoyed it, as well.”

Yzako froze, turning towards the door she had neglected to check on when she heard it open. 

What she saw made her heart drop. 

Two guards were standing on either side of a row of individuals, and as Yzako’s eyes swept over them, she wanted to be happy. She wanted to smile in relief at the sight of the four girls from Ba Sing Se, but the horror on their faces told her that she shouldn’t be. They were looking at her as if she were a monster, something to run and hide from. 

She couldn’t blame them. 

“Bow before your Fire Lord and the Golden Dragon,” one of the guards ordered, giving Fen a rough shove. 

“Hey!” she snapped, stumbling forward. 

“Fen.” Min hissed sharply, bending at the waist but keeping her eyes on Yzako. 

The other girls followed hesitantly, lowering themselves to a king that wasn’t theirs and a woman they used to consider a friend. The guards weren’t satisfied, though, pushing them down onto their knees roughly. When Chun fell forward, catching herself on her hands, Yzako took a menacing step towards them, her movement aggressive enough that both guards immediately reeled back and stared at her in terror. 

“Don’t touch them!” she snarled, taking another step forward. 

The guards backed up towards the door, stammering out apologies and looking past her for help from the Fire Lord. Ozai offered them nothing, though, simply watching the scene before him with an amused glint in his eye until he decided Yzako had scared them enough and he finally spoke up. 

“Leave us.” he ordered, waving his hand as he returned to sit on his throne. 

“Y-Yes, Fire Lord Ozai.” the men bowed quickly, scampering out the door as fast as they could. 

“Yzako.” the Fire Lord said sharply. “Sit.”

She whipped around to face him, lip raised in a sneer, hands in fists at her sides ready to make him regret treating her like a dog, but before she could, he said something that stopped her in her tracks. 

“Remember what happened last time you disobeyed, Yzako.” 

Her breath caught in her throat and she could let out a strangled “Yes, Fire Lord,” as she returned to her little throne and sat on it obediently. 

“Now, who are these women you have chosen to bring home with you?” Ozai asked. “Four brothel girls from Ba Sing Se...new pets, perhaps? Did you grow so bored in the Earth Kingdom that you took to hiring yourself some company?”

“They’re my friends.” Yzako said, voice cracking as a lump formed in her throat. The girls were peeking up at her as they remained kneeling on their hands and knees, their eyes full of hate and fear and confusion...but she couldn’t bring herself to think badly of them. She knew they would be angry with her. It was to be expected. But now, being forced to face them like this, she wasn’t at all prepared for their expressions or the way they were watching her. 

“Friends? In Ba Sing Se?” Ozai snorted. “It is  _ painfully _ obvious that my pathetic older brother rubbed off on you.”

Suddenly, Yzako was glad he was making her stare at Min and the others. Ozai couldn’t see the look of pure rage that passed over her face as he spoke ill of Iroh, but the girls did, growing pale at the sight of it. This wasn’t the Kaida that they knew in Ba Sing Se. Yes, she had been formidable back then, but this was something else entirely. They had been dragged to the throne room just in time to watch her firebending, something they all abhorred, and now there she was, sitting like a little pet poodle monkey for her master, a massive dragon resting at her side. 

“They don’t know your true identity, do they?” Ozai chuckled. “I can see the fear in their eyes. If they are truly your friends, why don’t you tell them?”

Yzako tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. “May they rise and face me better, Fire Lord?”

He looked down at her, pleased with the way she understood the workings of the throne room. “They may.”

The girls rose slowly, looking at each other uneasily as they sat back on their heels. The room was hot, far hotter than any of them enjoyed, the flames surrounding the throne crackling loudly. The Fire Lord himself was terrifying, sitting amongst them as if the fire could do nothing to harm him, and Yzako, or whatever her name was, was scary even though she looked like she wanted to cry. 

“What’s going on?” Min asked. 

The flames suddenly jumped, roaring as Ozai’s voice rang out over them. “You will speak when spoken to in my throne room, girl.”

She shrank back in surprise, eyes wide. No one had spoken to her that way in years, and she had never heard a voice that was so commanding before. The Fire Nation soldiers all paled in comparison to their leader, and she supposed he was in charge for a reason. “Y-Yes sir.”

Kul raised his head slightly, one eye looking at Ozai as he growled softly. The Fire Lord took notice and narrowed his eyes. This dragon was already proving to be a handful...but he would find a way to manage this beast, he was sure. 

“Tell them before I grow tired of this, Yzako.” he growled.

She sighed, her eyes sweeping over the four girls. Chun looked like she was ready to cry. “I already told you my name isn’t Kaida, and...I guess I’m not who you think I am.”

Min opened her mouth to snap something at her, but as she looked up at Ozai, she thought better of it. Instead, she decided to take a braver route. “Then who are you? Why are we here?”

“You’re here because I made sure you came along.” Yzako said. “Remember? I told you that if I ever got out of the lower ring, I would take you with me.”

Min stared at her in disbelief. “You aren’t even who you said you were, and you expect us to just live in this--this  _ palace _ as if that’s normal?”

“Are we slaves?” Chun whimpered. 

“What? No!” Yzako said, standing up and walking towards them before the Fire Lord could snap at her to sit back down. “You’re my guests.”

They looked at each other uneasily. 

“Who are you, exactly?” Fen asked. “Why were you hiding in Ba Sing Se?”

Yzako’s face fell even more. Fully aware of Ozai’s eyes on her, she folded her hands in her sleeves as she looked down at the girls, choosing her words carefully. “I was sent by Princess Azula to investigate the city.”

“So it was all a lie?” Min jumped to her feet quickly, a little bit of courage surging through her. “Everything you told us? All those stories about your old life and becoming a refugee?”

“Min,” Yzako warned, taking a step back. “Calm down.”

“Absolutely not! You expect me to just accept this? I thought you were my friend!” Min shouted. 

“I was!” Yzako replied. “I-I  _ am! _ I brought you along with me because I wanted to keep you safe!”

“You know what keeps people safe? Not burning down their entire city!” Min snarled. “I don’t care who or  _ what _ you are. Friends don’t lie!”

Yzako opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by Ozai’s chuckling. She turned towards him, bracing herself for punishment, going so far as to shove Min behind her in case the Fire Lord decided to attack. 

“They are  _ amusing, _ Yzako.” Ozai said. 

“Let me keep them.” she growled up at him. 

“Yes, yes.” he waved his hand dismissively, the same way Azula always did. “Consider it a  _ reward _ for your hard work in destroying Ba Sing Se.”

When Yzako looked back at Min, the woman was shocked. “Reward?”

“Just take it.” Yzako whispered, pleading with her eyes. “This isn’t the time to argue. And you can’t exactly go anywhere else.”

“They will work, of course.” Ozai spoke again. “If there are going to be whores in my palace, they’re going to make themselves useful.”

Min must have recognized the serious look in Yzako’s eyes, because finally, after several speechless moments, she bowed her head. “Yes, Fire Lord. Thank you for your graciousness.”

“Hmph. Learning already.” he said. “They will be your responsibility, Yzako. Their actions will reflect on you. They will be given their own chambers and answer to the high courts.”

Yzako breathed a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn’t be dealing with every soldier creeping around the palace. 

“And before I dismiss them...they should witness a gift I have for you.”

“A gift, Fire Lord?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Of course.” he raised his hand, the torches on either side of the door blazing to life. As if it were some kind of signal, the guards returned, this time dragging a man between the two of them. 

Yzako’s eyes narrowed as she turned to look at him. He was wearing a navy uniform, but his hair had been cut, falling loosely without a topknot to symbolize his honor. He stumbled along as the guards shoved him down to his knees, crumpling onto the floor with his entire body shaking.

“You’ll want to step aside, ladies.” Ozai said, sick amusement lacing his voice as he watched Yzako. 

They scrambled to their feet, running to huddle together near a pillar while Yzako stalked forward. Her eyes were trained on the man before her, head tilted slightly as she tried to recall where she knew him from. He was vaguely familiar, and as he looked up and she took in his face, she began to remember. 

“You,” she breathed, her eyes narrowing and her lips pulling back in an ugly snarl. 

“Lieutenant Yang recently suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Northern Water Tribe.” Ozai said. “Thanks to his own stupidity, we lost several ships and countless lives.”

Yzako was barely listening. She was too busy trying to control the fire prickling along her fingertips as she glared down at the man who had effectively ruined her life. 

“I could simply banish him, or demote him once more...but putting his life in your hands is a much more  _ amusing _ course of action, don’t you think?” Ozai continued. “Choose, Golden Dragon. Choose what to do with the man who caused you so much pain.”

Yzako reached down, grabbing Yang by the front of his uniform and pulling him up. He was terrified, shaking violently as he desperately clawed at her arm. It was a far cry from the smugness he had once shown her, and now, she had a chance to enjoy ruining his life the same way he had hers. 

“Do you remember serving on Zuko’s ship?” she growled. 

“Y-Yes,” he answered. “P-Please, spare me--”

“Shut up.” she snorted angrily, blowing smoke into his face. “Why should I spare someone so useless to me?”

His eyes widened. “I-I--because I was only doing my job!”

“Your  _ job?” _ she roared. “Was it your  _ job _ to harass me on the ship? Was it your _ job _ to join Zhao and bring me back here for punishment?”

“Th-the Fire Lord rewarded me!”

“The Fire Lord just put your life in my hands. Does that feel like a reward?”

He shook his head quickly, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you!” Yzako snapped. 

The savage tone in her voice was terrifying. Min and the others huddled close, holding onto each other as if it would protect them from the inferno that was bound to come next. They understood how she had managed to destroy Ba Sing Se now; she was a powerful monster, one whose temper had ignited at the very sight of this man. They didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear that Lieutenant Yang wouldn’t be surviving the encounter. 

“You once grabbed me in a hallway and insisted I  _ work _ for you.” Yzako hissed at the man. “Do you remember what I told you?”

He closed his eyes again, desperately trying to look away. 

“Tell them what I said.” she turned him towards Min and the girls, moving one clawed hand to grip his hair, his scalp bleeding as she cut him. 

“I-I don’t remember.”

“I said no working girls should ever sell to you.” she snarled, yanking his head back sharply. “And you called me a bitch. You disrespected me just like you disrespect  _ them _ and the Fire Lord with every pathetic breath you take.”

Yang was struggling to breathe, his breaths coming in quick pants as he looked up at her. “I-I know now that I was wrong. I thought you were owned by Zhao. Now I see you’re Ozai’s slut.”

Yzako recoiled, letting him go as if he had stung her. She could hardly believe what he had said, staring down at him angrily. “You disgust me.”

She stepped aside, wiping her hands of him. For a moment, it seemed that she wanted nothing to do with him, preferring to let him go rather than dirtying her own claws. Ozai was angry as well, the fire around his throne leaping towards the high ceiling as he watched the scene before him, but he held himself back. If the Golden Dragon refused to sully her hands, he, too, would rather force someone else to dispose of this foolish lieutenant. Such a shame, that the man had turned out to be so disappointing after his promotion. 

Just as Ozai was preparing to order an execution, Kul surged forward, the dragon’s long neck snaking along as his jaws opened and Yang was engulfed in flames, the former lieutenant screaming in pain when they touched his skin. He tried to bend them away, but he was no match for Kul’s strength, quickly succumbing to the heat and force of the fire until he was little more than ash and charred bones. 

Min and the girls stared in horror. They had never seen someone die like that, and certainly not up close. The smell of burning flesh was sickening, so much so that Fen had to cover her nose with her hands before she retched. Perhaps the worst part of it, though, was the way Yzako had watched with flames dancing in her eyes. She wasn’t the Kaida they had known. 

She was something else entirely. 

Kul laid down again, settling himself in the flames around Ozai’s throne. Yzako returned to her own seat, sitting obediently, not speaking another word as she stared forward. Her heart was pounding, blood rushing in her ears as she watched the guards escort her old friends out of the throne room and to their own chambers. Watching Yang die had felt good, as if something from her past had finally been taken care of. She had forgotten about him during her time in the Earth Kingdom, but the second she saw his face, memories of the North Pole and the torture she had endured when he and Zhao’s surviving men brought her back to the Fire Nation started returning to her. 

“I am pleased with your decision.” Ozai said. 

“He was no one.” she replied stiffly. 

“Are you relieved to have killed him?”

“Yes.”

“Are you happy to see your friends safe and sound within the palace?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I trust you will enjoy your life here, alongside Prince Zuko. For now, you will remain at the foot of the throne, as an imposing symbol of power. There is no greater honor.”

“I know, Fire Lord Ozai.”

Though Yzako couldn’t see it, Ozai’s lips twisted into another of his signature smirks, eyes narrowing cruelly. “You have already proven yourself to be great, Yzako. I have witnessed your power grow as you have blossomed into a formidable, terrible dragon. I foretold that you would burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, did I not?”

“Yes, Fire Lord.” Yzako said through clenched teeth.

“And now, you will help usher in a new age of Fire Nation dominance. The world will burn beneath you, and kneel at our feet.”

“Where do I fall into your plans, Fire Lord? Shouldn’t you be more concerned with Zuko and Azula?”

“Azula is clever, and strong. She is an excellent tactician with a cold and quick mind, but she lacks passion. Zuko is passionate, but he has been too heavily influenced by his foolish uncle.” Ozai said. “You, Yzako...you have immense power, more than you know what to do with.”

Her stomach churned uncomfortably. She didn’t like where this was going. 

“Your brute force is what brought Ba Sing Se to its knees. When Sozin’s Comet lends us the strength necessary to win this war, you will be able to set the entire world on fire.”

She swallowed hard. All she wanted was to live a peaceful life, with the people she loved. Yzako didn’t want to become a warlord or a tool of destruction; she wanted a nap, and a good, calm future with Zuko. As much as she was happy to be back in the Fire Nation, where she could practice her bending out in the open and had her own luxurious bathing chamber, she missed the simplicity of her days in the Earth Kingdom capital. For weeks, she wasn’t a killer. She was just a normal person, with a boyfriend and a nice little life. 

That wasn’t her reality, though. 

“I want only to serve the throne, Fire Lord,” she said, her voice hollow. “That is my wish.”


	63. Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH I'm finally writing longer chapters! I love the Fire Nation so much, I'm so glad to be exploring the palace so much now. There'll be lots of fluffy stuff soon, too! We all know how dramatic book iii is, so I want to break it up with cute things soon while I can! For now, though, we've got something more serious to deal with...

While Yzako was trapped in the throne room for what seemed like days on end, Zuko spent his time outside. He barely saw her, vaguely aware of the way she would slink into their bed at night and rousing when she left in the morning. It seemed that Ozai was constantly demanding her presence, and that neither she nor the Fire Lord had any time for the formerly-banished prince. 

So, Zuko sat in the gardens, visiting the turtleducks his mother had so loved to feed. They were just like he remembered; cute and small, paddling around in the pond and quacking softly. Ursa had spent many hours kneeling there in the grass, tearing off little pieces of bread to feed to the adorable creatures, and as he sat at the water’s edge, Zuko could almost imagine her there with him. What would she say to him, if she had been living in the palace this entire time? Would she welcome him back with open arms like he craved, or would she be horrified by what her son had become? 

Zuko always remembered his mother as a kind, caring person, the kind who always kissed his bruises and bandaged his scrapes, but that had been long before he was banished. Now, he was a man, one hardened by years at sea and months starving in the wild. He had seen more of the world than he ever cared to, and killed the avatar in the process. If Ursa was there to greet him, what would she have to say about his accomplishments? Would she wrap her arms around him and press a kiss to his temple, or would she abhor the killer he had grown into? 

And what would she think of Yzako? Ursa had never met the Golden Dragon, disappearing from the palace just before Yzako had first been brought there. Would she like the dragon’s spunk and energy, or would she be terrified of her power and quick temper? Would the two get along? Would Ursa serve as the mother Yzako never had, taking walks through the garden, arm in arm, gossipping and chatting together while Zuko attended war meetings and eventually became Fire Lord himself?

He would never find out, and that was the part that bothered him the most. 

“You seem so downcast.” a voice pulled him from his thoughts, a shadow sending the turtleducks swimming away. “Has Mai gotten to you already?”

“I’ve barely seen her.” Zuko growled as Azula stood over him. “And I don’t care to.”

“My, how the years have changed you.” his sister smirked. “What’s wrong, then? Is the  _ Great  _ Golden Dragon not spending enough time with you now that she’s an important member of the court?”

“I haven’t seen Dad yet.” Zuko said flatly. “I haven’t seen him in years, since I was banished.”

“So what?”

He looked up at her angrily. “ _ So, _ I didn’t capture the avatar.”

“Who cares? The avatar’s dead.” Azula shrugged. 

Zuko glared at her for a moment before turning away. Yes. The avatar was dead, wasn’t he? 

“Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived.” his sister said. 

Zuko froze. He recalled the conversation he had with Katara down in the crystal catacombs, when she had offered to heal his scar. He had turned her down, but the vial of water she had held up...it was some kind of spirit water, something she could have used to heal his old wounds. If there was a chance it would have worked on him, was it possible that it healed the avatar and the massive wound on his back?

It was, but he didn’t need anyone else to know that.

“...No.” Zuko said, looking back up at Azul. “There’s no way he could have survived.”

She stared down at him, meeting his narrowed eyes with her own. “Well, then I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

With that, she turned on her heel and left, leaving her brother and the gardens she cared so little for behind. 

Fuck. 

She was onto him. 

The entire Fire Nation thought the avatar was dead, and he was the only one who knew there was a chance that he was still alive. What if he was? Would Azula be punished? Would they  _ both  _ be? He needed to figure out how to take care of this...but maybe he should speak with his father first. 

He stood with a sigh, walking away from the turtleducks. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to sit and watch them with Yzako yet, and that’s all he really wanted. Maybe, once he settled his nerves and cleared the air with Ozai, he would be able to steal her away for a few hours a day and actually get to enjoy his time back home; after all, the Fire Lord was allowing them to share a room, and had said nothing about their relationship so far. Yzako hadn’t come crying to him, and she hadn’t been snatched away yet, so maybe things were better than he was expecting them to be. 

As Zuko walked down the long corridors, though, he was nervous. His heart was pounding and his palms were clammy, and even though everyone he passed bowed to him, he felt impossibly small. The palace was terrifying and imposing, far scarier than he ever remembered it, and though he knew it was his home, it felt far less welcoming than he had hoped. 

When he reached the throne room, he took a deep breath. The guards stationed outside bowed to him, straightening back up when he nodded. 

“Prince Zuko, do you desire an audience with the Fire Lord and the Golden Dragon?” one asked. 

“Yes.” Zuko replied, frowning slightly. The man spoke as if Yzako was an equal to his father. He was aware that she was spending most of her time with Ozai, but he had no idea what her days with the Fire Lord looked like. 

“Follow me, my liege.” the guard bowed again, turning and pushing through the door. 

Zuko followed, bracing himself. He didn’t know what to expect, and he was terrified. The throne room was just as he remembered, the wooden floors polished until they shone in the firelight, the pillars reaching all the way to the ceiling. At the end of the room sat the throne, the Fire Lord kneeling atop it, surrounded by flames that obscured his features. All of that, Zuko anticipated. 

What he didn’t anticipate was Yzako. 

She was sitting on a smaller throne in front of Ozai’s, completely still as she stared forward. A heavy golden chain stretched from her collar to the black seat, weighing her down in a way Zuko knew she must have hated. Despite it, her hands were folded neatly in her lap, her back straight. She was better behaved than ever before, straining to maintain such a calm facade when Zuko was sure she was screaming on the inside. 

Kul was also there, the dragon wrapped around Ozai’s throne. He was resting in the flames, his golden body blending in with the fire as he grumbled and snored happily. At the sound of someone new entering the room, he picked his large head up, rumbling happily when he recognized their visitor. 

“Prince Zuko, your highness.” the guard announced, bowing before he left again. He backed out of the room as quickly as possible, his eyes trained on his boots as if one glance upwards could mean death. 

Zuko believed it. The air in the throne room was warm and thick with tension, his father appearing even more imposing than he remembered. With a dragon staring down at anyone who dared set foot in the Fire Lord’s presence, Ozai was becoming more and more of a terrifying, powerful leader, the kind who could claim he was descended from spirits and then pass on into legend after his reign ended. How was anyone supposed to follow in his footsteps, when he was making himself larger than life?

Zuko immediately dropped into a bow, lowering himself until his forehead rested on the floor. He couldn’t show any weakness before his father. He needed to prove that he was worthy of returning to the palace.

“You have been away for a long time.” Ozai said, his voice just as stern and terrifying as Zuko remembered. “I see the weight of your travels has changed you. You have redeemed yourself, my son.”

Zuko looked up to see the Fire Lord rising from his throne. Walking through the roaring flames and down the steps to the floor, Ozai paused next to Yzako, placing a hand on the back of her neck. She didn’t move, staring forward calmly, but Zuko recognized the anger in her eyes and managed to catch the tiniest twitch of a snarl on her lips. 

“I am proud of you, Prince Zuko.” the Fire Lord spoke, tightening his grip on Yzako slightly. “I am proud because you conquered Ba Sing Se. I am proud because when your loyalty was tested by your treacherous uncle, you did the right thing and captured the avatar.”

He let Yzako go again, moving to circle Zuko as the prince sat up. “And I am proudest of all of your most legendary accomplishment.” he paused behind the prince, looking down at him. “You slayed the avatar.”

“What did you hear?” Zuko finally spoke up. 

“Azula told me everything. She said she was amazed and impressed by your power and ferocity at the moment of truth.”

Azula had told their father that Zuko had been the one to kill the avatar? Why would she lie like that, when it was her own lightning that took the airbender down? She should want that glory for herself. Azula had never been the type to share anything, especially not when it came to her successes. 

No matter why she had done it, though, her words had an obvious impact on the Fire Lord’s decision to welcome Zuko home, and the prince wasn’t about to question his father about it then. 

“I am grateful to my sister.” the prince said, eyes straining to look back at his father. 

“You should be grateful to Yzako, as well.” Ozai walked back around him, coming to stand next to the girl once more. “She pushed you to redeem yourself, did she not?”

“You sent her to kill me, Father.” Zuko said bravely. “Why?”

Ozai frowned slightly, all too aware of the low growl Kul was making behind him. Zuko caught the movement, eyes narrowing. As he took in the scene before him, he began to wonder if Ozai was keeping Yzako on that chain as punishment, or because he was afraid of her. 

“I sent the Golden Dragon to  _ take care _ of you.” Ozai began, his hands folded behind his back. “After all those years at sea, I worried that perhaps you had taken your uncle’s teachings to heart and you had...gone rogue, so to speak. With no sign of the avatar, I feared that you were simply wasting away, losing your mind on an endless sea. When I learned of your uncle’s treachery at the North Pole, I felt that you had truly been lost...but now, you come before me not as a banished prince, but as a son who has earned his title back.”

Zuko’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had waited years to hear those words, and now his father was finally welcoming him home. It was everything he had ever hoped, and despite the unsettling feeling creeping up his spine, he was overjoyed. So much so, in fact, that he was getting brave enough to speak up again. 

“Father, I have one request.” 

“Oh?” Ozai raised an eyebrow. 

“I wish to court Yzako.”

The room fell silent, the roar of the flames nearly deafening. Yzako’s eyes widened slightly while Ozai’s narrowed, the Fire Lord moving to circle his son once again. Zuko was sitting still, holding eye contact with Yzako as she stared back at him. His shoulders were squared, his back straight, his amber eyes refusing to betray anything. He looked like a prince, one who had just returned from war rather than a years-long banishment, and as Ozai looked down at him, he didn’t move a muscle. 

“The Golden Dragon is a servant of the Fire Nation. She is a symbol of our strength and vitality.” Ozai said. 

“She is also a free-thinking woman, Fire Lord.” Yzako finally spoke up. 

Ozai looked at her. “Prince Zuko is set to take the throne. A successful courtship would mean that you enter the royal family.”

“Does that frighten you, Fire Lord?”

Zuko sucked in a breath. Was this how she spoke to him all the time? He couldn’t imagine talking back to his father. The one time he showed disrespect in the throne room, he had earned a scar and banishment as a result. 

“Should it,  _ Yzako?” _ Ozai shot back. 

“I only wish to be happy, Fire Lord.” she replied calmly. “Isn’t that what we all want?”

Ozai looked at her for a long time, holding her gaze steadily. “Your comfort is a priority, Yzako.”

“Don’t you want to strengthen your bloodline?” she asked boldly. “Imagine adding a real dragon to the royal family.”

After a tense moment, the Fire Lord chuckled, walking back around to return to his throne. “Fine. Do as you wish. Do not let this distract either of you from your duties, however.”

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. He almost couldn’t believe his father had actually agreed to it. Receiving Ozai’s blessing made him believe the Fire Lord even more, and it felt like he truly was being welcomed back home as a member of the royal family. His father was pleased with him, finally, allowing the prince to have the life he was always meant to have, and Zuko wasn’t going to squander that opportunity.

“Your union would be a smart one. The heirs you produce would no doubt serve the Fire Nation well.” Ozai said, as if he were thinking aloud. “It would cast us all in a very favorable light.”

“Exactly, Fire Lord.” Yzako said. “Though I’m sure you understand that in order for Prince Zuko to court me properly, I’ll be in need of some more free time.”

Ozai’s brow furrowed. Was that what she was after? More leisure time away from the throne room?

“I’ve been nothing but obedient these past few days.” Yzako continued. “That alone should tell you that I have only the Fire Nation’s best interests at heart.”

“Very well.” He waved his hand. “Enjoy your day. Though you will remember to come when called, Golden Dragon.”

“Of course, Fire Lord.” Yzako rose to her feet, her golden chain rattling with her movements. “I wouldn’t dream of disobeying you.”

  
  
  


—

  
  
  


Back in their room, Zuko finally pulled Yzako into a hug, a wide grin on his face as he kissed the side of her head. She smiled back at him, pulling away to look up at her prince. He was handsomer than ever in his royal armor, his topknot held in place by a little golden crown. As he looked down at her, though, his face began to fall. 

“What’s wrong?” Yzako asked. 

Zuko looked uncomfortable. “Were you there when Azula spoke to my father?” 

“No. She met with him as soon as we got here a few days ago. Why?”

“She told him I killed the avatar…”

“So?”

Zuko shook his head, stepping back from her. “Why would she do that?”

Yzako shrugged. “Who knows. Does it really matter, though? You’re here and you’re the crown prince. Your father just gave us his blessing.”

“I need to talk to Azula.” 

“Right now?” Yzako sighed, hugging herself as he made for the door. “Why can’t we just enjoy a night together?”

“I won’t take long. I promise.” 

She followed him to the door, reaching for his hand. “Hurry back, Zuko.”

He brought her fingers to his lips, pressing a kiss against her knuckles. “I will. I just need to have a word with my sister.”

Yzako watched him go, then returned to sit on the edge of the bed. She was tired, wanting nothing more than a hot bath and a snack, but just as she was about to call for Jin to draw her one, there was a knock at the door. She stood with a frown, folding her hands in her sleeves as she took a few steps towards the center of the room. 

“My lady, you have visitors,” a guard’s voice called. “Are you decent?”

Yzako ran forward, tearing the door open and glaring at him. “What does it look like? Of course I’m--” at the sight of her guests, she fell silent. 

“May we come in?” Min asked quietly, the other girls peeking around her. 

“I told them it was improper to intrude without invitation,” the guard said gruffly. “But they insisted you had called for them.”

“Y-yes, of course,” Yzako said, surprised to see them standing before her. She took a step back, holding the door open wider. “I mean...I did. Please come in.”

Min led the way, the other three girls following. All four of them looked around the lavish room with wide eyes, taking in the expensive decor and furnishings as if they had never seen such things before. Honestly, they probably hadn’t; Yzako didn’t know where exactly they were staying, but even the nicest guest rooms in the palace paled in comparison to the crown prince’s chambers, and now that Zuko’s old dwelling had been redecorated for the Golden Dragon, it was even more luxurious. The floors were a polished white stone, the massive four poster bed sitting on a few short, raised steps, its pillars covered in serpentine dragon carvings. The room itself was just as large as the entire Jasmine Dragon, and now that she thought about it, it was bound to be the nicest in the palace aside from Ozai’s. 

What must this look like to these four girls? They had known Yzako as a refugee who began with nothing, stealing money for a living in the lower ring. She had lived in a tiny apartment, and even when she moved to the far nicer one when Iroh got his own shop, that was nothing compared to this. 

She had a lot of explaining to do, it seemed.

“You may leave us,” Yzako said to the guard, clearing her throat to try to seem less hostile than when she answered the door. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Golden Dragon.” he bowed before turning. 

She made sure he had disappeared down the hall before closing the door, satisfied that he wouldn’t be crouching on the other side to eavesdrop. When she turned back to face her room, she saw the girls standing in the center nervously, staring at the massive dragons on the walls with worried expressions. They had all been dressed in new gowns, their robes ranging from yellow to a crimson red. They no longer wore flowers in their hair, the style being far too  _ Earth Kingdom _ for the palace; instead, they all had high buns or ponytails that were fastened by golden bands, and fresh matching collars around their necks. 

So, Zuko had been right. They were just like Yzako now.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, taking a step towards them. 

Min held her hand up quickly in warning. “Not another move until you tell us what’s going on.”

Yzako halted. “You’re right. I owe you an explanation.”

“You sure as hell do!” Chun piped up. 

“Sit down. I can have some tea brought in--”

“No.” Fen said. “You tell us right now.”

Yzako sighed, looking down. She bowed her head, trying to show them all how sorry she was, but she had no idea if the gesture translated well. “I’ll answer any questions you have. Truthfully.”

“Who are you?  _ What _ are you?” Min asked, voice wavering in fear slightly as Yzako moved. 

“A-and no lies!” Chun added. 

She straightened up again. “Where do you want me to begin?”

“At the start!”

“My name is Yzako.” she said, moving to run her hands along the big golden dragon statue that sat near the left wall. Her hands needed a distraction, something to do before she got too nervous in front of her friends. 

Friends...is that what they still were? Did they trust her at  _ all _ anymore? 

“I was born on a small island in the Fire Nation.”

She heard an angry huff, but when she looked up to see who had made it, their faces were all blank. 

“My village sat at the base of a volcano, where a dragon lived.” she traced the statue’s spine, her fingertips running over its sharp ridges. “His name was Kul. He was big and golden and ancient.”

As she heard an angry grumble from the dragon, she snorted. After she and Zuko had left the throne room, Kul had finally let go of his physical form, tired and grouchy after a long day of sitting around listening to Ozai. Now, he was wrapped around her soul, growling at the insinuation that he was a senior citizen. 

“He was worshipped by everyone in my village. He taught them how to firebend, like other dragons did in other places, and because the island was so small, no one ever bothered it. But then Fire Lord Azulon heard about the dragon, and he came to kill him.”

“What? Why?” Fen scoffed, folding her arms over her chest. “This place is  _ covered _ in dragons. Aren’t they a symbol or something?”

Yzako glanced up at her. “They are. But the royal family made killing them into a sport. Slaying a dragon meant that you were more powerful than nature itself, and by the time Azulon was an old man, they were almost all gone. The day I was born was the day he came to kill Kul.”

“How can they be gone when we saw one in the throne room?” Min asked, eyebrow raised skeptically. 

“That was Kul.”

“So Azulon didn’t kill him?” Chun asked. 

“He did. When I was born, I didn’t cry. I was dead, or dying, or something...and Kul knew he was dying, too. So he blessed me, and gave me his life. My mother died, but I lived, and Kul’s spirit stayed with me.” she continued walking around the statue, her hands reaching its horns. “When I was young, the Fire Sages came to collect me. I was getting too powerful, and they wanted to control me. I lived in their temple for half my life before I was summoned to the palace to meet Fire Lord Ozai.”

“So...it really was all a lie.” Min said. “There is no Kaida. You were never a refugee. You were in Ba Sing Se to destroy it all along!”

“No I wasn’t,” Yzako snapped. “I went to Ba Sing Se for a better life.”

“A better life than all of this?” the woman gestured to the room around them. 

“You don’t understand--”

“Then please, enlighten us.” Min spat, her voice venomous. “Tell us why you lied about your entire life. Tell us why you made up your past.”

Yzako’s face fell. “I didn’t make it  _ all _ up.”

“You wear that collar because you’re the Fire Lord’s little pet!” Min said, pointing an accusatory finger at her. “You’re not like us. You never were. You let us believe you were a nobleman’s bedwarmer, but you’re nothing but a Fire Nation  _ monster _ !”

“I wear this collar because I can’t take it off!” Yzako snarled. “I wear this collar because the sages saw me as a beast they needed to break. Everyone I have ever met has only seen me as a monster to either be controlled or feared. When I was in Ba Sing Se, I was finally just a person. I didn’t have anyone to answer to, I wasn’t an assassin or a weapon or a spy. I was just  _ Kaida, _ and I was hiding from everyone, yeah, but I was  _ happy. _ ”

“Then why’d you do it?” Chun asked bravely. “Why’d you destroy the city?”

Yzako sighed, exhaling some steam through her nostrils as her shoulders sagged. “I didn’t have a choice. Azula infiltrated the Earth King’s palace and found me. I knew that if I didn’t do what she asked, she would kill the people I love, and she knew that if she put a hand on them, I wouldn’t take Ba Sing Se for her.” tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, and she moved to wipe them away with her sleeve as quickly as she could. “I had to do it to protect them. I had to please Ozai or else he would torture me again.”

The tears were flowing freely now, leaving her eyes red and puffy as they ran down her cheeks. “Before I went to Ba Sing Se, I was hunting down the man I loved. I was going to kill him. A-and then I almost died instead. I was so tired, and broken, and when I had the opportunity to enter the city and live a new life, I took it. I  _ was _ a refugee from the Fire Nation, just like everyone else. And there  _ was _ a nobleman who bought me nice silks and let me sleep in his bed every night...he just wasn’t killed in a raid.”

When she finally looked up, she was met with four stunned faces. They didn’t look angry or afraid anymore, just shocked. 

“I lied to you because I wanted to leave this all behind. I was ready to wake up in Ba Sing Se every day and go to the spa and sit in the tea shop. I never planned to destroy it. I never  _ wanted  _ to burn it. But I did, because I had no other choice.”

“You chose a few lives over thousands.” Min said harshly. “Because of you, the entire Earth Kingdom is going to fall. Do you realize what you’ve done? How could a few people be worth killing so many?”

“I protect the people I love.” Yzako said, wiping her tears away and squaring her jaw. 

“Who could possibly be worth all of that?” Fen sneered. “We lost our home because of you!”

“It was my destiny.” Yzako said quietly, hugging herself as she looked at the floor again. Kul was purring in her ears, trying to soothe her, but the pit in her stomach was too large even for him to mend. “Keeping him safe is my destiny.”

“Who?” Min rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me it’s--”

“She’s up to something!” a voice suddenly snarled, the door flying open with such force that they all jumped. 

Yzako turned quickly, her body moving on its own as she let a few flames loose in the direction of the intruder. Zuko just bended them away in annoyance, slamming the door shut behind him as he stalked into the room, glowering. 

“Zuko!” Yzako snapped. “You almost gave me a fucking heart attack!”

He snorted angrily, clearing smoke out of his sinuses. “I’m sorry, but this is  _ my _ room, and I don’t have to  _ knock _ when I want to come in.”

“You can’t scare me like that! I could have killed you--”

He interrupted her with another snort, this one more amused. He rolled his eyes, finally pausing long enough to breathe and think for a moment. When he did, he noticed that she had been crying, his angry sneer turning into a frown as he finally looked around the rest of the room. When he saw their visitors, he froze and stared at them. 

They stared back. 

“Y-You’re--” Chun raised a shaky hand, pointing at him.

“--L-Lee, from the tea shop?” Fen finished, blinking as if her eyes were deceiving her. 

Zuko’s anger was quickly melting away, leaving him flustered as he stood there. He hadn’t expected to find anyone other than Yzako in their chambers, and he certainly hadn’t expected to find  _ them. _

Yzako cleared her throat. “This is Zuko.  _ Crown prince of the Fire Nation.” _

The girls all stared, mouths agape as they took him in. 

“Th-There’s no way,” Min said in shock, taking a step back. 

Zuko looked like he wanted to turn and run at any moment, but Yzako grabbed his arm, keeping him in place as she stepped up next to him. Her hand slid down until it found his, her fingers holding his tightly. He let out a heavy sigh, lowering his head and closing his eyes. He didn’t know what they were all doing there, but he could guess that they were the reason Yzako had been crying. 

“Forgive me.” he said. “I didn’t realize we had company.”

For once, none of them knew what to say. Zuko expected them to give him shit, but when he looked back up at them, they were still just staring...and somehow, that was worse. 

“D-Do you want some tea?” he asked, trying to get one of them to do something. 

Finally, Min started laughing. “You’re--you’re asking  _ us _ if  _ we  _ want... _ tea?  _ Are you sure you’re the crown prince? Because you’re acting like you still work in a tea house.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. Great. Now they were just going to make fun of him, weren’t they? 

“But now he has servants that bring it!” Fen said excitedly. “Right?”

“Of course.” Zuko scoffed. “The prince doesn’t pour his own tea.”

Yzako sighed quietly in relief as the tension began leaving the air. “I’ll call for Jin. She’ll bring some. If you’re all staying, that is.”

For the first time that night, a tiny smile pricked at the edges of Min’s mouth. “You have a lot of explaining to do. And tea sounds...nice.”


	64. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally gonna get rolling more now!!

“So let me get this straight. You’re some kind of... _ living deity _ called the Golden Dragon.”

“Not really. It’s just a title.”

“But there’s an entire dragon hanging out in your soul right now.”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“So can we see him?”

Yzako looked at Min in surprise. “You met Kul in the throne room the other day.”

“Not really. We just watched him burn some guy to a crisp.” Fen wrinkled her nose. 

“Well...I guess...he might be grumpy, though. He’s been spending a lot of time out and about.” Yzako said. 

“Oh, please.” Zuko rolled his eyes, sitting back. “He’s been laying around the throne for the past three days doing nothing. He’s just a big lazy lizard.”

A loud growl filled the air, the dragon suddenly appearing. The room was large enough for him to wrap himself around the bed in the center, his head up near the ceiling as he glared down at Zuko. One long whisker snaked down, knocking the prince’s tea out of his hands as Kul snarled. 

Chun let out a loud laugh, devolving into a fit of giggles. “You deserved that!”

“Shut up,” Zuko grumbled, slumping down. 

“Play nice,” Yzako laughed, reaching up to pet Kul’s snout as his head settled next to her. They were all kneeling around a tea table the guards had brought in, Jin standing nervously by the door with a fresh pot in her hands. She was more than happy to serve Zuko and Yzako’s guests, but she hadn’t expected to see the dragon there, and now she could understand why everyone was so afraid of him. The servants had been talking about Kul for days, whispering to each other in the halls when no one was around and passing rumors back in their own quarters. Some people claimed that he would eat anyone he pleased, and as Jin looked at his massive jaws, she was starting to get the feel that they were right. 

“Jin, can you grab a fresh cup?” Yzako asked, still laughing. 

The servant snapped to attention. “Y-yes, of course.”

As she rushed to pour Zuko some fresh tea, the prince just folded his arms over his chest and sulked. 

“Are you going to apologize?” Yzako asked, her hand on Kul’s nose as he nuzzled against her side. 

“For what?” Zuko snapped. 

“You called him lazy.”

The prince rolled his eyes, sitting forward again as Jin set a new cup in front of him. “I’m sorry,  _ your majesty.” _

Kul gave him a smug look, his nose wrinkled up and his lips pulled back in a grin that showed all of his teeth. It was an unnerving sight, sending Jin scurrying back to her place by the door. 

“I’m sorry, but this is...really strange.” Min said. “This is strange, right?”

The other girls agreed, Zhang nodding quietly as she hid her mouth behind her teacup. 

“Is he...dangerous?” Fen asked, looking at Kul. 

“Kul? No way!” Yzako said, leaning over to hug as much of the dragon’s huge face as she could. “See? He’s just like a big baby.”

Kul trilled, giving her a playful shove that almost pushed her out of her seat. 

“He’s just happy to finally be out of the throne room. He never gets to have fun. Isn’t that right?” she cooed, scratching at his cheeks. 

Kul made a crooning noise, his tail swishing happily on the other end of the room. As huge and terrifying as he was, he seemed totally at ease, laying on his side comfortably as he exhaled steam into the air to heat the room up. To the girls from Ba Sing Se, it was sweltering, like a sauna they didn’t choose to enter, but to the other three, it was perfectly comfortable. 

“Jin, did you want to join us?” Yzako asked, looking towards her maid as Kul shoved against her hands again. 

Jin blinked. “Excuse me, ma’am?” 

“There’s plenty of extra room, if you can squeeze in around Kul.”

“O-oh, no, it wouldn’t be proper, Lady Yzako--”

“What if it’s an order?” Yzako raised an eyebrow. “It isn’t. But what if it was?”

“Th-then I would have to obey. But really, it isn’t necessary--”

“You always do so much for me. You deserve to enjoy the tea you made for us.” Yzako smiled warmly as Kul tried to lay his head in her lap. “Kul wants you to join. Don’t you?”

The dragon looked up, making a chuffing sound. He glanced around the room for a moment before his eyes settled on the bonsai tree, trilling at it and reaching for it with his whiskers. As Kul felt its short branches, Yzako could imagine Iroh tending to them, hearing his voice humming a familiar song as if he were there with them. 

Her face fell. 

“Please join us, Jin,” she said, looking back to the servant. “Uncle Iroh always used to pour a cup for Kul even though he wouldn’t drink it. He always said it was rude not to offer any to a guest.”

Zuko was staring at her. 

“W-well...if that’s what you desire, Golden Dragon…” Jin tiptoed around Kul’s tail, jumping whenever he moved. She came to join them at the table, sitting between Yzako and Zhang nervously. She bowed her head. “I-I’m sorry, I’ve never been invited to sit with the royal family…”

Zuko was sitting at the head of the table, separated from Yzako by Kul’s big head. “It isn’t... _ normal.” _

Yzako glared at him, opening her mouth to argue. She knew it was technically  _ his _ room, and that as first in line to the throne he outranked her and just about everyone else in the palace, but it was also  _ her  _ room, and she had an entire serpent there to argue her case.

“...But what the Golden Dragon wants, the Golden Dragon gets.”

She sat back smugly. Was this what courtship was going to be like? How much was she going to be able to get away with if he was going out of his way to keep her happy? 

When Zuko caught an amused twinkle in Kul’s big eye, he scowled. He had a feeling both he and Yzako were going to take advantage of him now...but he didn’t mind it too much. Spoiling Yzako was about to become one of his top priorities, and he couldn’t exactly avoid Kul. The dragon made his strange cough-laughing sound, shoving his nose into Yzako’s lap again and sniffing at Jin’s hands. 

She jumped back, knocking into Zhang. The courtesan hardly even moved, holding herself steady like always, sipping her tea calmly. In fact, none of the girls from Ba Sing Se seemed at all bothered by the addition to their little party; if anything, they were happy to see that Yzako wasn’t the tyrant they had all feared she would turn out to be. 

“Don’t be scared,” Yzako laughed, pressing a kiss against Kul’s scaly snout. “You can pet him.”

Jin looked at her like she was insane. 

“Can I pet him?” Chun asked, reaching across the table. She didn’t wait for an answer, pushing herself up onto her knees and bending until her hand made contact with one of Kul’s eye ridges. The dragon purred happily, leaning into her touch and knocking his cheek into the edge of the table. 

Zuko reached down to steady it, knowing all too well just how easily it would be for Kul to break the entire thing. At the sight of the crown prince making such a movement, Jin’s eyes widened. She had been surprised by him enough as it was, but as she watched him interact with these guests from Ba Sing Se, she could hardly believe her eyes. 

“Something on your mind, Jin?” Yzako asked as she scratched at Kul’s face. “You can speak openly here.”

“I-I’m just surprised.” she admitted, looking down at her lap. “I’ve lived in this palace my entire life. I never dreamt I would be invited to join the prince for tea.”

“Yeah, well, we worked on the streets of Ba Sing Se and we never thought we’d end up here, either.” Min said. 

“You did?” Jin looked up at her. “We all thought you were bought or taken from Earth Kingdom aristocracy…”

“Don’t stroke their egos.” Zuko growled, raising his cup to his lips. 

Chun laughed loudly. “We’re brothel workers!”

“From the lower ring!” Fen chimed in. “Kaida—sorry,  _ Yzako _ used to hang out with us all day.”

“They became personal friends while I was in the city.” Yzako said quickly, before any of the others could say something. “When we took Ba Sing Se, I chose to bring them back here with me so that they could enjoy the perks of palace life.”

“I can’t believe the Fire Lord let them stay,” Jin said, eyes bright with wonder as she looked at the foreigners. “N-not that I’m questioning him, of course, he’s always right—”

“I told you to speak freely here.” Yzako said, taking a sip of her tea calmly. “You don’t have to be afraid of anyone reporting you or threatening your life. And if they do, they’ll have to answer to me.”

Jin gulped. “I-I just meant that...well, the entire time I’ve worked here, I’ve never heard of the Fire Lord enjoying any... _ company, _ if you know what I mean….”

Zuko’s face reddened. He didn’t want to think about his father fucking whores. He didn’t want to think about his father fucking  _ anyone, _ in fact. 

“When everyone in the servants’ quarters heard that there were new guests from Ba Sing Se, and that they were working girls, we imagined they were being brought back here as prizes, as a show of military might. The spoils of war, that kind of thing.” Jin looked around at them sheepishly. “Actually...we all heard that the Golden Dragon was bringing them back personally, so...well, we all kind of wondered what exactly Lady Yzako was getting up to, especially now that Prince Zuko was home….”

Zuko’s face was a nice ruby red when they all turned to look at him. “N-no, that’s not--”

“Oh Lee  _ loves  _ us,” Chun purred, her chin resting on her hands as she smirked at him. 

“You mean  _ Prince Zuko,” _ Fen batted her eyelashes. 

“You certainly don’t hate us,” Zhang chuckled quietly.

“You  _ did  _ come visit me alone at the brothel that one day…” Min winked. 

“That was different!” he put his teacup down on the table, glaring at all of them. “That was for Yzako and you know it! I didn’t even pay you!”

“I’m not above a little charity work, Zuko.”

“That is not what I--”

“Do you like us more now that we’re wearing Fire Nation clothes?” Chun asked. 

Fen pouted. “Was that your problem? You didn’t like Ba Sing Se fashion?”

Zuko sighed dramatically. If they were anyone else, he would have kicked them out the second he even saw them standing in his room. But no, they were  _ them _ , and he just  _ had _ to have a soft spot for Yzako’s annoying friends. 

It didn’t help that one of the palace servants was sitting there staring at him with big doe-eyes, though. 

Zuko didn’t remember Jin from his life pre-banishment, but he didn’t really remember any specific servants. He never paid much attention to their faces; they were kind of like furniture, always  _ there _ in the background. Jin was a cute girl, with dark brown hair that she wore pulled up in a plain topknot, wearing the bland red uniform all of the royal servants were kept in. If he didn’t know who she was, she would have blended in with the rest of them, a member of the palace’s little army of staff that kept it running. She seemed attached to Yzako, though, comfortable enough to sit next to the Golden Dragon, even making eye contact with her once in a while when she was addressed by name. Now, surrounded by the girls from Ba Sing Se, she looked like she fit right in. 

He could  _ hardly _ wait for her to grow enough backbone to start teasing him like the rest of them did. 

“No, we  _ know _ he only has eyes for  _ Yzako,” _ Min said, nudging him with her elbow. 

“Min.” he growled dangerously. “I’d like you to go back to that shocked attitude you had when you realized I was royalty. I’m your prince.”

“You can be  _ my _ prince any day!” Chun shrieked with laughter, Fen joining in a second later. 

Yzako snorted, nearly choking on a mouthful of tea. “Get in line, Chun.”

The girls pouted. “Why do you get to hog him all day? The Fire Lord told us we have to work if we’re going to stay here, after all…”

“I get to hog him because the Fire Lord  _ also _ said that Zuko can officially court me,” Yzako said, looking across the table smugly. 

“Oooooh,” the four girls cooed together. 

“What does that mean?” Fen asked dreamily, leaning her cheek on her hand, her elbow on the table in a most impolite manner. 

“Are you gonna shower her in gifts?” Chun asked. 

“Yes, Zuko, what  _ are _ you going to do?” Yzako looked at him pointedly. 

He raised an eyebrow. “You really want your surprises ruined? Because if that’s what you want, then fine…”

Her face immediately fell. “Wait, hang on, no, I love surprises!”

“Are you sure?” Zuko asked. 

“Yes!” Yzako whined, her voice drowning in the sound of the Ba Sing Se girls’ shrieks of laughter. 

“If it isn’t out of place to say…” Jin spoke up as the others quieted down again, “you’ll make a smart match.”

“Yeah, you will,” Min sighed. 

“We were all sad to see you go,” Jin said, glancing over at Zuko before quickly looking down again. “You were always kinder than the princess. When you were...well, when your father…”

“You can say it.” Zuko said flatly. 

“When you were banished, a lot of people missed you. It’s nice to have you back home again, Prince Zuko. Everyone is happy about it.”

He watched her for a long moment before finally returning to his tea. “It’s good to be home.”

Chun cleared her throat. “What, uh...so…” she was trying to find the right words to ask a question that had been burning at the back of her mind. 

“Spit it out.” Zuko growled. 

“I-if you didn’t get your scar in a Fire Nation raid, what happened?” she blurted. 

Jin’s eyes widened in shock at the audacity. 

Min elbowed Chun sharply.

Yzako offered Zuko her hand, wiggling it out from under Kul’s jaw. 

He refused it, making eye contact with Chun. “Are you sure you want to know?”

Never one to back down from a fight, she nodded after only a second’s hesitation. “Yes. I do.”

“I was banished three years ago for speaking against a general in my father’s throne room.” he said, holding his cup to his lips and calmly taking a sip. “I was challenged to an agni kai.” at their confused expressions, he added, “...a firebending duel. I thought I was going to fight the old general, but instead, everyone got to watch the moment I realized I was facing my father.”

Yzako withdrew her hand, petting Kul’s cheek. The story was just as bad the second time she heard it. 

“I refused. I didn’t want to raise a hand against him. He showed me how weak and pathetic I was, branding me as a disgrace for the rest of my life.” he lowered his cup, looking at Chun. “It took weeks before I could take the bandages off. I had to heal while I was out on the sea, traveling the world in search of the avatar. My father told me that the only way I could come home and regain my honor was if I captured him, so my uncle came with me as a guardian.”

“Y-Your Uncle Mushi?” Chun asked. 

“His name is Iroh. But yes. He took care of me even when I didn’t want his help. He was...always there for more.”

“What happened to him?” Fen asked angrily, her voice accusatory. 

Zuko sighed. “He’s fine. He’s...in prison.”

“That doesn’t sound fine!”

“Fen,” Yzako warned. 

“No! What did he do?” she asked. “He’s the nicest person any of us ever met!”

“He’s a traitor to the Fire Nation.” Zuko said. 

“Are you saying he  _ belongs  _ in  _ prison?” _

“He made his choice. When the time came, he betrayed his home.”

“Maybe this wasn’t his home then. Maybe Ba Sing Se was his home.”

“Does it matter?” Yzako asked before the situation could escalate any further. “Iroh is in prison, yes, but he’s alive.”

Fen sat back, grumbling to herself under her breath. 

“This isn’t Ba Sing Se. Things work differently here.” Yzako said, changing the subject as quickly as she could. “So, the Fire Lord said you have to make yourselves useful while you stay in the palace. Is that going to be an issue for anyone?”

They all shrugged. 

“No, not really.” Min said. “The men here can’t be any worse than what we’ve already encountered. It’ll be like back home, just...not.”

“Good. I’m sure Jin can tell you more about who’s most likely to try to ask for your services. Ozai said you were going to be expected to work for the royal court.”

“What does that even mean?” Chun asked, wrinkling her nose. 

“Nobility, like members of the royal family or aristocracy,” Jin piped up. “And some high ranking military leaders, too.”

As the girls all groaned and began asking the servant more about the men they would likely have to deal with, Yzako continued sipping her tea. She thought back to the way Zuko had barged into the room yelling something about Azula being up to something, and she wondered what exactly he meant. What had his sister told him? If she was trying to claim that Zuko had killed the avatar when he didn’t, then she obviously had something up her sleeve.

Azula was cunning and clever, and while Yzako had already proven that she could beat her in a firefight, she had her doubts when it came to a battle of wits. The princess had been at this far longer, and she knew the ins and outs of the palace in a way that few others did. That made her extremely dangerous, and she definitely didn’t seem like she was above betrayal if it meant getting what she wanted. 

Yzako wanted to stay a step ahead of her, but how? She needed to come up with a plan...and she needed to speak with Iroh. 

  
  


\---

  
  


“You really think this will work?” Yzako asked. 

Kul dipped his head in a nod. He was facing her, his nostrils level with her eyes. His body was curled around her, shielding her from the slight breeze and any onlookers who might find it odd that the Golden Dragon would be meditating in the garden in the middle of the night. There were a few guards standing near the doors leading back to the palace, but Yzako wasn’t worried about them; if Kul’s idea worked, no one would have any clue what she was actually up to. 

“If you say so,” she sighed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. 

She practiced the deep breathing technique Iroh was always such a fan of, her mind quickly settling into a calm state that she hadn’t experienced in weeks. It seemed like it had been forever since she meditated, but as she focused on her own heartbeat and the rhythmic swishing of Kul’s swaying tail in the grass, everything felt familiar. The warmth of the dragon’s spirit brushed up against hers, surrounding her mind until suddenly, she was looking at a jail cell. 

There was an old man sitting in the back corner, his gray hair tangled and his clothes dirty. If she didn’t know any better, Yzako would have thought he was at the tail end of a lifelong sentence, some criminal doomed to live out the rest of his days in the Fire Lord’s prison. In a way, she supposed that was what Iroh was; a traitor in the eyes of the crown, an enemy of the Fire Nation who was finally paying for the crime of standing against the throne. 

The sight of such a noble man in such a low state made Yzako’s heart lurch. She took a step forward, arm outstretched, but when she called out his name, he didn’t answer. Looking down at her hand, she saw that it was translucent, a ghostly silver much like how Kul used to look the first few times he had appeared before her. Her skin had a faint glow to it, and when she took another step, she found that she passed through the cell bars with ease. 

So, the dragon had been right; he had somehow managed to take her spirit out of her body and send her off to visit with Iroh. It was the perfect plan, one that no one else would have any hope of figuring out--all they would see was the Golden Dragon partaking in some much-needed meditation, completely unaware that she was actually trying to speak with a war criminal. 

If she managed to contact him, that was. 

At the feeling of a strange warmth in the air, Iroh stiffened. He had spent the past several days playing a deteriorating old fool, refusing to speak to the guards whenever they taunted him or brought his rations. They thought he was crazy, and he had the peace and quiet to get himself back in shape in preparation for the Day of Black Sun. He had thought he was alone until they brought his morning meal, but the disruption in the air behind him made him wonder if someone had come to bother him for fun. 

He didn’t turn, waiting for a voice. When he heard none, he peered over his shoulder...and he saw nothing. The warmth was growing stronger, though, as if someone with a flame in their hand was walking towards him. There was clearly no one there, though, the air perfectly still, the torches lighting the hall outside flickering as they always did. 

With a frown, Iroh finally turned around fully, sitting with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees. The sensation was persistent and far too strong to simply ignore, and with his earthly senses proving less than helpful, he turned to another strategy. After a few deep breaths and a tranquil mind, Iroh opened his eyes again, and what he saw made him smile. 

“Can you see me? Hello?” Yzako asked, waving a hand in front of his face. “Iroh? Hey, come on. I’m doing my best here--”

“It is good to see you,” he chuckled. 

She stopped mid-wave, blinking in surprise as she processed his words. When she realized he had finally entered whatever world between worlds that she was in, she dropped her hand and smiled. “That’s a relief. I was getting worried it wouldn’t work.”

“Where are you?” Iroh asked, avoiding addressing her by name in case any guards came by and overheard. It would be far better if they thought he was simply having a conversation with himself. 

“In the gardens. Kul thought this would be the best way to contact you.” Yzako said.

Iroh gave a nod. “I am happy to see that you are safe. We must speak quickly, though.”

“I just wanted to update you, and ask your opinion. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I know there’s a chance someone could be listening.” Yzako bowed her head. “First, though, I want to apologize for everything that’s happened.”

His brow furrowed. 

“I destroyed Ba Sing Se.” Yzako said, eyes on the floor. “I did it in an effort to protect you and Zuko. I couldn’t see any other way to keep you both safe. Azula would have killed you both otherwise. I know that Zuko chose to side with her in the end, and I can’t speak for him, but I was trapped and I didn’t know what else to do.” Her words were tumbling out clumsily. “You don’t have to chastise me for it. Min already made sure I know how stupid it sounds to sacrifice an entire city for two people. But I want you to know that if it meant keeping you and Zuko safe, I would burn the entire world a thousand times.”

She looked back up and Iroh was shocked to see such resolve in her eyes. Her irises seemed to be on fire, blazing with an intensity he had never witnessed before. 

“Ozai keeps me on a chain in the throne room to show everyone how strong he is, but I know that he and Azula are both afraid of me and Kul. The Fire Lord is trying to keep me under control and on his side by giving me the things that I ask for. He agreed to let Min and the others stay so long as they work, and he gave Zuko his blessing to court me.” Yzako was speaking as if she had rehearsed this all, and Iroh gave a quiet laugh when he realized she probably had. 

“I know you’re probably upset with him, but I didn’t come bother you to plead for forgiveness.”

“As much as I wish we could share a cup of hot tea together, I know there is a reason for your visit.” Iroh said. 

“Yes. Yes, there is.” she sucked in a breath. “Azula told Ozai that Zuko killed the avatar. I don’t even know if the avatar is really dead, and I don’t know why Azula would give someone else the glory if she was the one who did it. I want to--no, I  _ need _ to stay ahead of her before something blows up in my face.”

Iroh frowned deeply. “Yes, you are right. In all her life, I have never known her to share anything, especially not with her brother.”

“Exactly. There’s something going on. I don’t know how much Ozai is involved, but I  _ do _ know that I have something neither he nor Azula expected.”

Now Iroh was truly surprised, and more than a little intrigued. “Oh?”

“Ozai said that the girls from Ba Sing Se have to work for the courts if they’re going to stay.” Yzako said, a little glimmer in her eye. “I’ve spent all night thinking about it. The generals and noblemen who fund their war are bound to want some love from the  _ exotic _ Earth Kingdom women the Golden Dragon herself brought back as a prize, and what better time for them to start letting little secrets slip than while they’re enjoying a few glasses of sorghum and  _ relaxing _ with Min or Chun?”

Iroh was stunned. 

“I have to admit, I am impressed!” he said happily. 

“You’re relieved to know that I thought of a plan like that all on my own, aren’t you?” Yzako asked smugly. “The girls don’t know about it yet, but they’ll love it. I can use them to run intel through the entire palace and stay on top of everything that happens outside of the meetings Ozai forces me to sit in on. It’s a good plan, right?”

“I am happy to know that your heart remains steady,” Iroh smiled. 

“I’m doing what I can. Zuko doesn’t even know about this. I don’t know if he--” 

At the sound of footsteps, Yzako’s head whipped around. The shadow of a figure appeared on the wall as they approached Iroh’s cell, and when she looked back at the old man, he gave her a sharp nod. She returned it, and just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. 

When she opened her eyes again, she was in the garden, leaning against Kul’s side. 

“Did I say anything out loud?” she asked, looking up at him. 

The dragon shook his head.

“Good.” Yzako climbed to her feet, brushing herself off. “At least we know that works.”

And at least they knew Iroh was okay. 

“Let’s go to bed, big guy.” she turned to walk back inside, her hand resting on Kul’s neck as he joined her. With any luck, Zuko was still asleep, just like they had left him. Yzako had tried to leave as quietly as possible, hoping that she wouldn’t disturb him. It had seemed to work, but when she opened the bedroom door, she found that he was gone. 

Her eyes narrowed and Kul growled. Rather than say anything out loud, though, she went to bed silently, her dragon disappearing so that he could rest for the remainder of the night. Yzako was tired, too, changing into a silky nightgown with the last of her energy before she slipped under the covers, ready for sleep. She hadn’t spoken with Iroh for as long as she had hoped to, but she preferred cutting their meeting short rather than risking being caught by a guard.

Little did she know that they hadn’t been interrupted by a prison guard at all, but rather the very person she was currently missing.

“Uncle...it’s me.” Zuko said, pulling the hood of his cloak down. He had gone to great lengths to threaten his way into Iroh’s jail cell, but now that he was looking at his uncle, part of him wished he hadn’t.

It was beyond depressing to see him sitting there in the dark, dressed in rags, his hair stringy and filthy. The old man was facing the back wall, his head turned slightly so that he could listen to his nephew, but ignoring him otherwise. 

“You brought this on yourself, you know.” Zuko said. “We could have returned together. You could have been a hero, like Yzako.”

Iroh’s shoulders hunched further forward. He wanted to turn and reprimand his nephew, to yell and tell him that at least Yzako was  _ trying _ to right her wrongs and keep her loved ones safe. He knew he couldn’t, though; if she had hidden her visit from Zuko, there was bound to be a reason. 

“You have no right to judge me!” the prince said. “I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se and you’re a fool for not joining me!”

Iroh remained silent, and it was infuriating. 

“You’re not going to say  _ anything?”  _ Zuko asked angrily. His temper was rising quickly, and when Iroh still refused to even acknowledge him, he aimed a punch at the stone wall. “You’re a crazy old man! You’re crazy, and if you weren’t in jail, you’d be sleeping in a gutter! You could be living happily with me and Yzako, but you’re too stubborn and selfish!”

He turned, stomping away, leaving Iroh there alone once more. 

Zuko’s trip back to his room was a quick one, the prince walking as fast as he could while steam puffed out of his nose. He was furious. He had thought Iroh would at least  _ speak _ to him, so that they could find some way to make amends, but no. His uncle was being too prideful to see that his nephew still cared about him. 

When he slipped into his chambers, Zuko finally calmed down. Yzako was asleep in bed, and Kul was nowhere in sight. With no one to interrupt his night any further, the prince changed into his sleep clothes and joined Yzako, settling into fitful dreams that were a far cry from the ones he wished he was having. 


	65. A Day Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is kinda cute and fluffy!

Yzako's pink outfit (just think heavier silks and a lil fancier and historically accurate lol):

“Wake up, Lady Yzako!” Jin called in a singsong voice. 

Yzako rolled over, groaning as sunlight from the window hit her face. “Absolutely not. I told Ozai I’m taking the day off.”

“The Fire Lord isn’t the one who summoned you, milady,” Jin yanked the covers back.

Yzako immediately curled up, reaching for a pillow to hide her head under. “Then tell whoever it is to fuck off. It’s too early.”

“I don’t think that would be wise of me,” Jin laughed, pulling the pillow away. 

“Why?” Yzako whined loudly, flopping onto her stomach dramatically. 

“Because we’re going out today.” Zuko called from behind his changing screen. 

“Out where?” Yzako asked suspiciously, sitting up. 

“To Royal Caldera City’s shopping district, of course.”

That finally got her to perk up. She rose to her knees, stretching to get a look at the top of his head as his servants dressed him for the day. “Shopping, you say?”

“Yes,” he looked back at her. “We can have whatever we want delivered to the palace, of course, but I thought you’d like to go visit some shops. If I’m wrong, though, we can just stay in…”

“No!” Yzako said quickly, jumping out of bed and dragging Jin along to help her get changed. “No, I want to go shopping. You can’t offer that and then take it back.”

She could hear Zuko laughing at her, but she was too preoccupied to care. Yzako hadn’t gotten a chance to even venture into the city, despite living in the palace more than once, for weeks at a time during each vsit. If it was anything like Ba Sing Se, there was bound to be an intriguing fashion district boasting more than enough shiny things to catch her eye, and now...now she was practically royalty, and she could buy whatever she wanted to. 

This was going to be the perfect day. 

She followed Jin to the washroom, sitting patiently at her vanity while the servant combed her hair and gathered it in a tight, perfect topknot, leaving half of it down to fall around Yzako’s shoulders. Another girl came in to do her makeup, swiping a pointed brush covered in black liner over her eyes and painting her lips red like Azula’s. They had insisted on sitting her down to do it every day since her return to the Fire Nation, and Yzako didn’t hate it in the slightest; it made her feel fearsome, and she understood why the Kyoshi Warriors painted their faces so dramatically. 

“I want to wear something I can move around in if I’m going to be walking all day,” she said, standing behind her changing screen as Jin reached for a gown she had already laid out. “You know. Something flashy, but practical.”

“I’m afraid that might be a tall order,” Jin chuckled, walking to open Yzako’s wardrobe. “Besides, I doubt you’ll be walking. You’ll take a palenquin.”

Yzako paused. “Well...yeah, I suppose I will…”

“How about this?” Jin pulled a set of black and gold robes out. “You haven’t worn this yet.”

“Well how heavy is it?”

“Just pick something!” Zuko yelled from across the room. 

“I don’t want to get annoyed with my outfit!” Yzako shouted back, peering over the top of her changing screen. 

“If you don’t like it, you can just buy a new one today.”

“...That’s a good point.” she turned to look at Jin again. “Fine. This one.”

The handmaid had to hold in a laugh as a few other girls surged forward to help dress the fussy aristocrat. By the time they were done, Yzako’s obi was tied tightly, her sleeves reached the floor, and she looked like she was going to attract just the right amount of attention when she stepped out into the city. 

“What do you think?” Jin asked, turning her towards a mirror. 

Yzako took in her reflection. She looked royal, adorned in layer upon layer of fine silk that probably cost a fortune. She was wearing more money than most people ever earned in their lives, and she was about to simply go out and buy as many outfits like that as she wanted. Before she could lose herself to depressing thoughts of Ba Sing Se, she tore herself away, catching sight of Zuko as he stepped out into the center of the room in the red robes of the crown prince. 

“You look stunning,” he smiled, reaching for her hand when she came to join him. She took it and he raised it to his lips, pressing a warm kiss against her knuckles that had her swooning. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Yzako cleared her throat. “Let’s go.”

Zuko laced their fingers together, tugging her out into the hallway as the doors were opened for them. He was excited to show her the city he had grown up in, even though he had never been allowed to explore it very much himself. Being royalty meant avoiding commoners, and for most of his life, the prince had remained within the palace walls; after all, why would he leave? He had everything he needed there, from the spa to the agni kai arena where his father had given him his scar. There was no reason to venture out into the city and deal with anyone else...but he knew Yzako would enjoy it, and he wanted nothing more than to see her smile. 

“So I can get  _ anything  _ I want?” she asked, looking up at him as he held her arm in his. 

“Of course. I’m the prince, aren’t I? I have more money than I could ever spend now.”

At the sound of footsteps, Yzako glanced over her shoulder. Behind them was a small fleet of servants, following in an orderly line as the two nobles made their way to the palace doors. “And I suppose they’re coming to carry my things?”

“They are.”

She frowned. She didn’t  _ hate _ the idea, but it also made her wish she had the privacy of going out alone. When the massive doors swung open to reveal the morning sun, Yzako saw that there were already two palanquins waiting, and she sighed. Again, she didn’t  _ hate _ it...but she wished she could just walk through the city arm in arm with Zuko rather than having to go to all the trouble of a royal escort. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her displeasure. 

“Nothing, I just…” she sighed as they walked towards the palanquins. “I wish we could walk on our own.”

“I know. Trust me, it feels weird to me, too.” he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. 

“We don’t even get to sit together,” she grumbled as he led her to her palanquin. 

“You’ll feel better when you see how much everyone cheers as you pass by them.” Zuko said, smiling as Yzako sat down. He knew he was right; she was too vain not to love all of her  _ adoring _ new fans. 

The prince took a seat in his own palanquin, the bearers hoisting it off the ground and starting towards the palace gates. The second they passed through them and entered the royal city, he could hear the excited gasps and shouts of joy as Fire Nation nobility caught sight of the royal procession. He leaned forward, drawing back the white curtain that hid him from the world, and was met by the sight of dozens of his citizens all smiling brightly. He saw women clasping their hands together and swooning while their husbands bowed, everyone reveling in their chance to glimpse the crown prince up close after so long. 

They really loved him, didn’t they? Or at least, they loved the version of him that was being presented before them. No one here knew about his long days on the run and all of his near death experiences. They had no idea that he had lived in such poverty, and they  _ certainly _ were never told that he had worked in a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. What they saw was a powerful prince, one who had killed the avatar and returned home victorious, not the troubled and confused man he really was. 

The sound of a dragon roaring in the sky distracted him from his thoughts. Zuko didn’t need to lean out of the palanquin and look up to know that Kul was stretching his wings, the crowd cheering loudly as he circled overhead. The prince sat back with a smirk. Yzako had to be enjoying that, even if she was being grouchy about the palanquins. 

And she was. The moment she heard the screams, Yzako jumped forward and tore her curtains open, looking at the crowd eagerly. She had to remind herself to stay composed while in the public eye, sitting back again and straightening up as she took in the sight of so many people. She was humming with excitement, though, suddenly very,  _ very _ eager to reach their destination so that she could get out of the palanquin and face everyone up close. 

Kul was excited, too, swooping low over the wide street with each pass he made. His scales were glittering in the sunlight, his wings casting a huge shadow over everyone down on the ground. He followed above the palanquins as they made their way to the fashion district, finally landing with a loud thud when the bearers stopped outside a large, impressive shop. 

Zuko appeared in moments, offering Yzako his hand and helping her step onto the stone street. She was still barefoot, refusing to wear shoes no matter how hard Jin tried to force her to wear little silk slippers, claiming that she hated having her feet covered and that dragons didn’t need to protect their toes anyways. Her servants all reluctantly conceded, mumbling about how the palace floors were smooth and polished and comfortable enough to walk on barefoot. Royal Caldera City’s stone streets were far rougher and less suited to bare feet, but Yzako didn’t care, stepped down from the palanquin as if she didn’t even notice. 

“The Golden Dragon!” a middle aged woman standing in front of the shop gasped, immediately bowing. “A-And Prince Zuko, what an honor!”

“Lady Yzako is here to do some shopping with the finest dressmaker in the city,” Zuko said.

“Y-Yes, of course!” The woman followed them inside, brushing herself off in order to look as presentable as possible. “Welcome to Madame Liu’s.” 

A line of servants trailed behind, standing by the door in a line while Kul laid down outside and made himself comfortable. It felt like entirely too much pomp for some shopping, but when Yzako gazed upon the rows and rows of silk lining the walls and the gowns and robes hanging off of wooden mannequins, she began to care less and less about the kind of stir her day out was causing. 

An old woman was sitting at the end of the room, sewing a red robe. Her face was wrinkled, her eyes cloudy, but her hands were steady as she worked, fingers rhythmically pulling a needle and thread back and forth through the fabric. At the sound of so many people entering her store, she looked up, squinting as she tried to make out who exactly had come barging in.

“Chu Hua, what is all this?” she asked without pausing her sewing. 

“Mama!” the middle aged lady hissed. “Get up!”

“Why should I? They entered  _ my _ shop, didn’t they?” 

Chu Hua looked like she was going to faint in horror when she looked up at Zuko. “Y-Your majesty, please, don’t pay her any mind, she’s just old and crazy--”

“Now who are you calling  _ old, _ young lady?” the old woman finally paused, putting her work down carefully as she stood from her seat. “I may not see well, but I can hear perfectly fine, you know.”

She picked up a gnarled white walking stick, walking forward and stopping in front of Yzako and Zuko. Her back was hunched, making her appear even smaller than she was, her silver hair pulled up into a neat little topknot on her head. Her eyes were milky, like Toph’s, but just like the earthbender, she didn’t seem to have any trouble finding her way around. 

“Your majesty?” she asked, peering up at Zuko. “I don’t suppose Fire Lord Ozai has stooped so low as to enter the city.”

“Ignore her!” Chu Hua rushed forward, taking her mother’s arm in her hands. “She should be getting back to her sewing.  _ Right, _ Mama?”

“Nonsense,” Liu shrugged her off. “I may be an old lady, but I’ve owned and operated this business for seventy years now, ever since my grandmother handed it down to me, and I’m not about to be bossed around by my own daughter while I’m still up and kicking. Now, who is it that wants my services?”

Zuko laughed lightly. “It’s been years since I’ve been here, but you haven’t changed a bit, Madame Liu.”

Yzako glanced up at him. He looked happy and relaxed, smiling down at this fiery old woman in a way he almost never did. 

Liu shuffled closer, peering up at him. “I know that voice...it took you long enough to come and visit, Prince Zuko. How long has it been? Oh, I haven’t seen you since you last came here with your mother…”

Zuko’s face fell and Yzako felt her heart drop. 

“Princess Ursa was always such a lovely customer,” Madame Liu said with a warm smile. “She popularized spinel necklaces, you know. I could always tell when the royal family was going to be taking a trip to Ember Island, because Ursa would always order a new statement piece and the jeweler would come running in to ask for a band.” she sighed fondly. “But I don’t suppose you’re visiting just to listen to the musings of an old woman like me, are you, Prince Zuko? Why don’t you introduce me to your lady friend?”

Zuko blushed, but straightened his back and puffed out his chest. “Madame Liu, this is Lady Yzako, The Golden Dragon.”

“A dragon, eh?” Liu turned to Yzako, squinting up at her. “You certainly don’t look like a dragon.”

She laughed lightly. “The real dragon is sitting outside, Madame Liu.”

“And I suppose your handsome prince has brought you to me for a new wardrobe? Come, come.” the woman grabbed Yzako’s hand, pulling her away to a wall of silks. “We’ll find you something that will put all your other robes to shame, or my name isn’t Madame Liu.”

Yzako lurched forward, having no choice but to follow the seamstress. Liu tutted over shades of reds and golds that were so close in color even the Golden Dragon, with her serpentine eyes that she had always considered excellent, could barely tell the difference between. Somehow, this tiny old lady knew exactly what she was doing, selecting fabrics with a level of expertise that could only ever come from a lifetime of experience in her craft. By the time she was satisfied, Chu Hua was holding a pile of silks so high that it obscured her face, and Liu was ushering Yzako to stand before a mirror.

“So you knew Zuko’s mother?” she asked as the women began taking her measurements. 

“Oh, Princess Ursa was beloved by the entire Fire Nation,” Madame Liu said. “We were chosen to sew her wedding robes, you know.”

“She was such a pretty bride!” Chu Hua said as she carried a pink and gold robe over to Yzako. 

“Pretty, yes, but sad.” Liu stepped back. 

“It was an arranged marriage, wasn’t it?” Yzako asked. 

“It was. She came from some far-off village. No one ever spoke of it after she and Ozai were wed, but I can remember she mentioned it to me during a fitting.” Madame Liu picked up the sleeve of the robe Chu Hua was holding, feeling the silk between her fingers. “She said it was tropical, with the best food in the Fire Nation.”

“What happened to her?”

Liu shrugged. “Dead, I assume.”

“One day she was here, then...Ozai was crowned Fire Lord, and she was gone,” Chu Hua said. “But, we got to sew the royal family’s funeral outfits!”

Yzako frowned. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she could see Zuko standing in the doorway, a hand on Kul’s snout as the dragon stuck his head into the store. “And you really think she died so suddenly?”

“Well, what else are we supposed to think?” Liu asked roughly, waving towards a changing screen. “Chu Hua, help Lady Yzako put this on. I think we have a winner.”

“You must excuse my mother’s impolite nature,” Chu Hua said as she led Yzako behind the screen. “I hope you will not hold it against us. She is an amazing seamstress, even in her old age, and her attitude does not reflect on the quality of her work.”

“I prefer people with big personalities.” Yzako said, holding her arms out as she was undressed. 

“Did you ever meet Princess Ursa?” 

“No. Zuko’s just mentioned her to me a few times.”

“And with good reason!” Madame Liu appeared, already impatient. “The prince was always with his mother. I can remember the way he would cling to her robes whenever she brought him here.”

Chu Hua laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. “Yes, he was very cute. Such a good child.”

“He was always pleasant and mild-mannered,” Liu’s wrinkled face broke into a smile. “Not like that sister of his.”

“Mama!” Chu Hua hissed. 

“No, let her speak,” Yzako said. “I want to hear her thoughts.”

“Azula was never as kind as her brother. It’s as simple as that.” Liu shrugged. “The royal family has always been divided, especially now. First it was Iroh and Ozai, now it’s Zuko and Azula...an old lady like me has no place speaking on this, I’m  _ sure, _ but I can sense that you’re different, Lady Yzako. Perhaps you can break this generations-old tradition of theirs.”

“What tradition?” she asked as Chu Hua tied an obi around her waist. 

“Betrayal, of course.” Liu turned, hobbling back to the mirror. “Come, come. Let us see how you like it.”

Yzako stared after her for a moment. This woman was acting like they were having a perfectly normal conversation, and not one that could have her exiled for speaking against the crown. Was she really so bold as to openly voice her displeasure with members of the royal family, or could she tell that there was no way Yzako was going to report her to anyone? Whatever the case, the Golden Dragon was a big fan of this tiny old lady and her big mouth.

“Ooh, you look so lovely in pink!” Chu Hua clapped as Yzako stood before the mirror. “What do you think?”

“I...wow,” Yzako was speechless. She had never considered herself a very  _ pink _ kind of person, leaving that area of the color spectrum to Ty Lee, but she had to admit...she liked how she looked. The robes were heavy silk, trimmed in gold, the sleeves long. Her eyes were popping against the colors, her dark hair and the blush on her cheeks standing out nicely. 

“Shall we see what your man thinks?” Madame Liu asked. 

“Zuko!” Yzako called, turning eagerly.

The prince jumped to attention, trying to act like he hadn’t just been playing with a dragon. When he saw her, his voice caught in his throat, his heart jumping. She was so beautiful that he was speechless, and he wanted to drop to his knees and propose to her then and there. 

“Oh, I think he likes it,” Madame Liu chuckled. “You wear that one out, and I’ll get started on the rest for you.”

Yzako was barely listening, running towards Zuko and spinning so he could see her new outfit. He caught her in his arms with a laugh, stepping back to appreciate her. 

“You’re beautiful,” he smiled, bringing her hand up to kiss her fingers. 

“Prince Zuko, you take this young lady to get some matching accessories!” Liu yelled, hobbling forward on her cane. “And be careful with these robes! That is an incredibly rare shade of pink, so don’t you go messing anything up!”

He slipped an arm around Yzako’s waist, smiling at Madame Liu as she threatened him. “It’ll be fine. I promise.”

She tutted, turning back to sit down in her original seat once more and continue her work. Chu Hua watched her mother go and then turned back to Yzako and Zuko, bowing low as she thanked them. When a footman stepped forward with a large, heavy coin purse, Chu Hua looked up in surprise, taking it slowly as she furrowed her brows. 

“But, we usually send a bill to the palace, and--”

“I insist on paying you up front for all your hard work,” Zuko interrupted her. “Rather than later, after you’ve already done so much. Please, take it.”

Chu Hua’s eyes widened and she stammered a thank you, bowing quickly as the prince and Golden Dragon walked away arm in arm. She didn’t know what she had expected from either of them, but whatever it was, it wasn’t what she had gotten. They surprised her with their kindness, and it seemed that Zuko was turning out more like his mother and less like his father. 

“What do you think?” Yzako asked Kul when they had gotten back outside. 

The dragon rumbled happily, leaning down to sniff the new outfit, his tail swishing. There was a crowd of people gathered around him, watching with wide eyes as Yzako laughed and stroked his nose. It was clear that Kul had amassed quite a following, and how could he  _ not? _ He was a living legend, a creature of myth. He was huge and majestic, his wings flaring out as he stood and stretched, his big tail whipping around. 

The crowd was ecstatic, clapping and bowing as Yzako’s eyes swept over them. She faced them easily, a smile on her face as she took in all the wealthy nobles and aristocrats, enjoying the way they revered her and her dragon so much. They were beloved, surrounded by adoring fans who were clamoring for a glimpse of the famed Golden Dragon, men pulling their servants and advisors aside to tell them that they wanted commissioned art of Kul  _ now _ before anyone else got any. 

“They love us,” Yzako remarked as she waved. 

“Of course they do.” Zuko snorted. “How could they not? Just look at yourself.”

“Oh?” she leaned up, smiling at him smugly. “What about myself?”

“You’re the most beautiful girl in the entire Fire Nation.” he took her arm, walking her towards another store. 

“Just the Fire Nation?” she teased. “Well, I guess Chun and Fen  _ are _ pretty. Those girls from Ba Sing Se are impossible to compete with these days.”

“That’s not what I meant!” he exclaimed, his face red.

“I know, I know.” Yzako snorted, reaching up and patting his cheek. “You’re just so cute when you’re flustered, I can’t help myself.”

He huffed, smiling at the sound of her laugh. “You’re lucky I like you so much.”

She gasped. “You  _ like _ me? Are you  _ sure?” _

Zuko rolled his eyes. “Remind me  _ why  _ exactly I’m taking you out and spoiling you when you give me so much attitude?”

“Because you  _ love _ me.” she leaned up on her toes again, kissing his cheek. “You wanna  _ marry  _ me.”

“Ugh.” 

Kul made a laughing sound as he walked behind them, plopping down on the street again when they stopped. He was more than happy to lay in the sun while Zuko took Yzako shopping, cooing and trilling every time his human left a shop and showed him a new shiny thing. By the time they made it to the jeweler, Yzako had flowers and pearls in her hair and was snacking on an egg tart, tossing the rest of her food to Kul who snapped it up happily. 

“Can he actually  _ eat?” _ Zuko asked, looking back at the dragon as Yzako pulled him into the shop. 

“Who knows. This is the first time I’ve seen him try.” she shrugged. “Maybe it’ll just burn up?”

Zuko tried to catch a glimpse of whatever was going to happen, but Kul just licked his lips with a long forked tongue, growling for more as he turned toward the cart Yzako had gotten the tarts from. By the time the prince and the Golden Dragon returned, he had eaten every dessert in sight, woefully baying for more while footmen shoved coins at the shocked vendors. 

When Yzako beckoned for him, the dragon got up with a grumble, walking towards her and flopping down again in front of her. 

“Aw, is someone upset that he can’t have any more food?” she asked. 

Kul nodded, snorting angrily. 

“Well, will this make you feel any better?” She held up a large golden ring, big enough that she had to hold it in both hands, letting him sniff it before stepping onto his snout and climbing up to his horns. She slipped it over one of them, ruffling his mane before she dropped onto the ground again to admire it. 

“You’re so handsome!” she said as the jeweler hurried out of the shop carrying a large mirror. 

Kul peered down at himself, reaching one of his whiskers up to feel the ring as he looked at his reflection. When he roared happily, Yzako grinned, scratching at his cheeks as Zuko carried out a matching ring for his other horn. Yzako took it from him, climbing up onto Kul’s head once again despite Madame Liu’s explicit instructions not to mess up her new robes. It didn’t matter to her, though; silk could be mended, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to have some fun on her day out.

Zuko watched the entire exchange with an amused smile. When he had set out to capture the avatar and regain his honor, he had never expected that he would one day be returning home with the love of his life and her dead-but-not-dead dragon. As he walked around Royal Caldera City’s fashion district hand in hand with her, though, he realized he wouldn’t trade this life for anything in the world, no matter what happened. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


“This is nice,” Yzako sighed happily, leaning against Zuko’s side. 

“It is,” he smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her temple before placing his hand down behind her so that she could lean further into him. They had climbed up to the cliffs overlooking the capital, sitting on a picnic blanket so that they could watch the sunset together. It was the perfect end to the perfect day, a warm breeze blowing around them while Kul flew in circles over the city down below. 

“Everything is so beautiful from up here,” Yzako said, watching the dragon loop around the palace.

“Capital City is one of the great wonders of the world. It’s even more heavily fortified than Ba Sing Se.” Zuko pointed down towards the harbor. “You didn’t get to see it while we were getting ready to return home, but the First Lord’s harbor is constantly defended by a blockade, and the harbor itself can hold more warships than any other on the planet.”

“I’ve seen my fair share of blockades.” Yzako waved him off. “Barging through Zhao’s was enough for me.”

Zuko snorted in amusement. “Wasn’t that the day that we--”

“Fucked for the first time?” she placed a hand on his chest and gazed up at him with a sly smile. “I do believe it was….” 

Zuko grinned, leaning down to kiss her. Just before their lips met, they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and he looked up angrily to see Azula standing there. 

“Zuko, could I have a word with you?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest. 

“Can’t you see we’re busy?” he snapped, turning back to Yzako. 

While they kissed, her eyes shot over to the princess. Azula looked displeased, her frown deepening as she saw that Yzako was watching her. 

“Fine. I suppose there are no  _ secrets _ between the two of you, anyway.” she said when they pulled apart. “I hear you’ve been to visit your Uncle  _ Fatso  _ in the prison tower _ , _ Zuko.”

“That guard told you!” he snarled, jumping up. 

Yzako just watched, trying to keep a straight face. When had he gone to see Iroh? Did he have any idea that she had spoken with him, too?

“No, you told me...just now.” Azula smirked. 

“Okay, you caught me.” Zuko growled, sitting back down and looking away. “What is it that you  _ want _ , Azula?”

“Actually, nothing,” she shrugged. “Believe it or not, I’m looking out for you. If people find out that you’ve been to see Uncle, they’ll think you’re plotting with him. Just be careful, dum-dum.”

Yzako glanced over at Zuko. Plotting, huh? If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get himself in trouble. He needed to leave the plotting to  _ her.  _

Azula turned and left, hiking back down the path she had taken to reach them. When she was finally out of earshot, Zuko let out a breath, flopping onto his back and staring up at the sky. 

“How did she know?” he wondered out loud. 

“When did you go visit him?” Yzako asked, leaning on her hand and looking down at him. 

“The other night.” he sighed. “I should have told you. I’m sorry.”

“Is that where you went off to?” she asked. 

“Yes.” he sat up. “When you went out to meditate, I snuck out to the prison. I wanted to talk to him, but he wouldn’t even acknowledge me. I just wanted to find some way to make amends, but he’s a stubborn old  _ fool. _ ”

“Zuko…” Yzako chewed her lip, reaching forward to take his hand. She couldn’t put him in danger by letting him know that she had already spoken with Iroh, and she definitely couldn’t tell him about her plans involving Min and the others. He needed to focus on being a prince, and in the event that everything went to shit, he at least deserved the privilege of deniability.

“I mean, what does he even want from me?” Zuko asked. “He should have fought alongside Azula and I instead of marking himself as a traitor. Now he’s going to rot away in prison for the rest of his life.”

“Hey,” Yzako said. “You don’t know that. I’m sure Iroh is upset, but there isn’t much you can do about that now, is there?”

“No.” he shook his head. “I’m sorry. This is supposed to be a fun day for you. I don’t want to ruin it by talking about any of this.”

“It’s fine,” she leaned her head against his shoulder. “Let’s just...relax, until it’s time for dinner.”

He smiled, reaching around her to hug her up against him. “I love you. And I love watching the sunset with you.”

The tension from Azula’s interruption was already disappearing with the breeze, the fiery sky too gorgeous not to appreciate. With Kul still flying over the city below, everything looked perfect for a moment, even though Yzako knew it was far from it. 

“I love you too, Zuko.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?? Sorry for being a little bit slower with updates lately, life has been wild! I wanted to let Yzako go shopping and have a little fun in this chapter, and you know how much I love writing weird fun side characters. I'm also getting tons of ideas for the whole Ursa storyline, so I'm DEFINITELY gonna be writing that! Lol this fic is never gonna end and I'm fine with that


	66. Distrust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like I haven't posted in FOREVER even though it's only been five days! I've been in a super bad funk lately and I've had almost no energy or creativity. This chapter is short and I don't super love it, but I wanted to get it done so that I can move on to something more fun lol.

“Here. I brought you some komodo chicken.” Zuko said, sliding a little basket of food through Iroh’s prison bars. “I know you don’t care for it, but I figure it beats prison food.”

Much like the first time he had visited his uncle, the old man refused to turn and look at him, facing the back wall of his cell without so much as a twitch to acknowledge his nephew. 

“I admit it. I have everything I’ve always wanted, but it’s not at all how I thought it would be.” Zuko bowed his head as he sat down. “The truth is, I need your advice.”

He leaned forward, grabbing the cold metal bars. On the other side of them, though he couldn’t see her, a ghostly Yzako was sitting cross legged next to Iroh, her hands clasped in her lap and her eyes narrowed. She had suspected that Zuko would try to visit his uncle again, and she had sat up to meditate the second he slipped out of their room so that she could witness it. Now, here he was, just as she had thought...though the komodo chicken was a nice touch that she hadn’t been counting on. 

“I think the avatar is still alive,” Zuko whispered. “I know he’s out there. I’m losing my mind. Please, Uncle, I’m so confused...I need your help.”

When Iroh still refused to turn, the prince jumped to his feet. “Forget it! I’ll solve this myself!” he spun around to leave. “Waste away in here for all I care!”

He spared Iroh one last glance before he stormed away, leaving the old man there alone with Yzako once more. When she looked over at him, she saw a single tear slip from his eye and leaned over, trying to wipe it away for him and sighing angrily when her hand passed through his cheek. 

“He doesn’t mean it,” she said softly. 

Iroh sighed heavily, opening his eyes. “I tried to guide Prince Zuko through his banishment. I thought that he had finally been able to let go of his obsession with honor and the avatar, but…”

“Well, let’s forget about him for a moment.” Yzako turned to face him fully. “It’s only been a week, but Chun and Fen have already gotten some  _ really  _ good information from one of the war ministers.”

“Oh?” Iroh asked, perking up.

“There’s an invasion plan.”

Iroh picked his head up to stare at her. “And the ministers already know of it?”

“Yes.” 

He sighed angrily. “Then that means Ozai does as well. The invaders will be unsuccessful.”

“Do you think the avatar is actually alive?” Yzako asked. 

“Prince Zuko is afraid that he is, and I believe there is a good chance that he was healed.” Iroh said. “Wherever the avatar is now, if he is truly alive, I am sure he is involved with this invasion plan.”

“It’s supposed to take place on the Day of Black Sun.” Yzako said. “Azula found out about it while she was posing as a Kyoshi Warrior in Ba Sing Se.”

“The Fire Lord is bound to be planning for it. The invasion is doomed to fail.”

“What is it, though?” Yzako asked. 

“A total solar eclipse.” Iroh narrowed his eyes. “Not many know of it. It is only known to have happened once before...but, like Sozin’s Comet, it is a recurring event.”

“Okay, so...what does it do?” 

“The Day or Black Sun is also known as the darkest day in Fire Nation history.” Iroh explained. “Do you remember what happened to the waterbenders at the North Pole when Zhao destroyed the Moon Spirit?”

“They lost their bending?” Yzako asked. “Wait, are you saying that this eclipse is going to take away our firebending?”

Iroh nodded. “Just as the waterbenders are connected to the moon, we draw our strength from the sun. While it is blocked as the moon passes in front of it, we will be unable to create even the tiniest flame. That is when the avatar plans to strike.”

“So how is the avatar going to fail? It doesn’t matter if Ozai knows about it or not. We won’t be able to bend.”

“This city is heavily protected. If my brother knows of the invasion plan, you can rest assured that he will be well hidden and even more well guarded.” Iroh looked Yzako in the eyes. -“In fact, I am sure that the Fire Lord will be using you as a defense mechanism. Do not be surprised when he calls on you to face the avatar.”

Yzako’s heart lurched uncomfortably. “You think he’s going to expect me to attack Aang?”

“There is no doubt in my mind.” Iroh said. “You have become a hero of the Fire Nation. Your loyalty will be tested in the coming months. In time, you will have to make a choice--continue allowing Ozai to use you as a puppet, or take a stand against the throne.”

Yzako looked away from him, avoiding his eyes. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have, no matter how important she knew it was. “What if I can’t do it?”

“You must.” His tone was just as serious as his expression. “The time will come for you to choose your destiny, and soon. It will be up to you to make the wisest decision when the time comes.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. As much as she enjoyed being able to speak with Iroh, she wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Desperate for an excuse to do or talk about something else, she looked back at the old man, the retired general she had come to consider her own family, and she nodded.

“You’re right. I know that you’re right, and that’s the scariest part. And I also know that I need to be ready. But...Zuko should be back by now, and Kul hasn’t done anything to tell me that he returned to the palace.”

Iroh frowned. As angry and disappointed as he was with his nephew, he still cared for him deeply, and the thought of anything happening to him, even now, was almost too much to bear. He hated that he couldn’t go find Zuko on his own, but he knew that he could at least trust Yzako to track the prince down; after all, she had managed to follow him through the Earth Kingdom, hadn’t she? 

“Go to him. Find him. Ensure that he is alright.” He said, nodding towards the cell door.

Yzako nodded, her ghostly disappearing. When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting up in bed, just as she had been before she meditated her way into prison. Kul was laying in his usual spot, his body circled around the room while he waited for her to finish her little astral projection. 

As she stretched her arms up above her head, Yzako looked around. No, Zuko definitely wasn’t there. What could he possibly be doing? It wasn’t very likely that something bad had happened to him within the palace walls, but what if someone had managed to slip past all the guards and was going after him? She growled at the thought of it.  _ She _ was the only person allowed to try to assassinate Zuko. 

Slipping out of bed, she began moving towards her wardrobe to find a cloak only to pause. What if he was perfectly fine, and he was up to something? Would she even want to know what it was? Yzako thought back to what he had said to Iroh back in the cell. He was determined to  _ fix _ his little avatar problem now that he was convinced Aang was still alive, but how was he going to do that without running off again and leaving the palace behind?

He wouldn’t do that.

Would he?

She began pacing, trying to chase off the anxiety rising in her chest. The thought of Zuko leaving her behind to go chase the avatar again was too much. What if he was upset enough with Iroh that he just left without so much as a note for her? Would he go that far to hide the possibility that he had actually failed to kill the last airbender? 

“He wouldn’t, right?” she asked Kul, sitting down and leaning against the dragon’s chest. 

His head snaked around as close as it could get to her, his whiskers playing with her hair as he let out a series of grumbles. 

“You’re right, it would be stupid of him.” Yzako frowned. “But he’s done plenty of stupid things.”

Kul made a sound as if he agreed. 

“But running off now would tell everyone that he failed. They would all know that he and Azula have been lying.” She wrung her claws together in thought. “So...what if he’s trying to get someone else to finish the job?”

Kul huffed, some steam filling the air. 

“You think he’s out hiring someone to do it?” Yzako asked, looking up at him. “Are there even any hitmen in the royal city? Seems kind of...I don’t know, like this is too nice a place for anything like that.”

Kul tilted his head in what could have been a shrug. 

“Well, what am I supposed to do? We can’t both go out looking for him. You’re way too conspicuous.”

The dragon growled at her in irritation, snorting angrily. 

“What? I’m right!”

Before their argument could escalate any further, the door finally swung open, a hooded figure sneaking into the room as quietly as possible. Yzako just rolled her eyes, pretending she wasn’t utterly relieved to see Zuko returning in one piece. The fact that he wasn’t dead or maimed only made her that much more suspicious that he actually  _ had _ been up to something shady, and she wanted to know exactly what he was up to.

“Nice of you to come back.” she said.

He froze. “I thought you were asleep.”

“Sneaking out to see Iroh again?” Yzako asked, looking over her shoulder at him. 

“So what if I was?” he said stubbornly, taking his cloak off and hanging it over his changing screen. 

“You know, you’re not very good at being secretive. Or lying.”

“Excuse me?”

She nodded towards his discarded clothing. “If you leave that there, the servants will know you used it recently. That isn’t exactly pajamas.”

He scowled. “Why are you even awake right now?”

“I got worried when I saw that you were gone.”

Zuko’s expression softened. “Oh.”

She pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning her chin on top of them. “I was afraid something might have happened to you.”

The prince looked down at her and sighed. “I’m sorry. I hoped you wouldn’t notice.”

“I always notice, Zuko.”

He felt a pang of guilt in his heart. “I don’t want you to get caught up in anything.”

“I feel like it’s a little late for that. What were you out doing tonight?” her voice was steady. 

As Zuko met her eyes, he felt like she was testing him. “I spoke with my uncle. He...wasn’t very helpful.” He held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to pull her up onto her feet and into a hug. “I think the avatar is alive...so I hired someone to take care of him.”

As she rested in his arms, Yzako’s eyes narrowed. So she had been right, after all. “An assassin?”

“Yes.” he stepped back, tugging her towards their bed. “He’s already paid off. There’s nothing to worry about now. He’ll finish the job, and then...that’s that.”

Yzako tried to hide her frown as she followed him. There was most  _ certainly _ plenty to worry about now, but she couldn’t tell him that she had spoken with Iroh about the invasion plan. Shit, she couldn’t even tell him that she was running a little spy ring. All she could do was cuddle up with him under the sheets and hope that this assassin of his wouldn’t be able to kill Aang, and that somehow, everything would fall into place in just the right way for all of this to turn out okay. 

  
  


\--

  
  


When Jin came and woke her up in the morning, Yzako was already in a bad mood. When she informed the Golden Dragon that she and Kul had already been summoned to the throne room, that mood only worsened. 

Yzako groaned and grumbled as she was dressed for the day, Kul following her through the corridors grumpily as they made their way to the Fire Lord. What could he possibly want so early? Zuko wasn’t even fully awake yet. The sun was just barely beginning to shine through the windows, and Ozai was already demanding that Yzako start her day? He should know better. 

“What’s the meaning of this?” she snarled as she stepped into the throne room. 

“Ah, Yzako,” he greeted from his seat. “You’re finally here.”

She raised her lip in a sneer. His tone was biting, his eyes narrowed as he smiled cruelly at her. “What can I help you with so early, Fire Lord?”

“I will tell you once you’ve bowed to your master.” he answered coldly, looking at her expectantly. 

Yzako rolled her eyes, but dropped to her knees nonetheless. “My apologies, Fire Lord.”

“As scathing and inappropriate as your attitude is, I must admit, it is nice to see that your spirit remains unbroken.”

She looked up at him. 

“How are your  _ friends _ from Ba Sing Se settling in?”

Yzako sat up on her knees. “They’re...fine. Why?”

“My war ministers seem pleased with them. Morale amongst them is higher than I have seen during this war, despite all of our recent victories. Bringing them here was a good idea, Yzako.”

“I’m happy to hear that, Fire Lord. They’re hard workers.”

“I believe you deserve a reward for all of your  _ own _ hard work, Yzako.”

She stared at him in shock. Hadn’t he decided to let her keep the girls from Ba Sing Se in the palace as a reward? Why was he being so generous to her suddenly? “What?”

His cruel smile faded into a more mundane one. “Have you heard of Ember Island?” 

“Once or twice, in passing. Why, Fire Lord?”

“It is a beautiful island, boasting the finest beaches in the Fire Nation.” he said, ignoring her question. “Many noble families have second homes there, away from the stress of the busy city.”

Yzako narrowed her eyes. Was he trying to get rid of her for some reason? 

“I own a home there as well, of course. I want you to take a few days off and enjoy the hot sand and the cool water. Perhaps even socialize with other noble youth.”

“What will you do while I’m gone?” she asked. 

“I have several private meetings that will be held over the weekend. I want there to be no interruptions, and the generals and ministers are still... _ wary, _ shall we say, of Kul.” Ozai said. “I think you’ll benefit from some time away from the palace, don’t you?”

“I...I suppose so…”

He was looking at her expectantly. “I don’t imagine there’s anything to fear on Ember Island, Yzako. No need to hesitate. You and Kul will fly there bright and early tomorrow morning. Prince Zuko and Princess Azula will join you later on.”

Fly?

Now the pieces were almost beginning to fit together and make sense. There was a good chance that this was Ozai’s way of testing her loyalty once and for all. If he turned her out into the world for a third time and she stayed on her best behavior, then maybe he would trust her fully. His reasoning for sending her away seemed weak, though; she had never thought he really cared about how uncomfortable Kul made his military leaders, considering how imposing Ozai liked to make himself look. Though several generals and admirals were always on edge around the dragon, it never seemed to be of much concern to anyone else. 

She couldn’t argue with him, though. And it was just for a weekend. What could one little vacation possibly hurt?

“Alright. I agree, Fire Lord. Visiting Ember Island could be...nice.” she conceded, standing to walk over to her little throne in front of Ozai’s. 

“A very good decision, Yzako. You will sit with me for the rest of the day, and spend the evening with Prince Zuko.”

She nodded as Kul lumbered over, curling up around the big throne and laying in the fire he so loved to nap in. 

After that, the hours passed normally. Yzako yawned and dozed through boring hearings, nodding off several times before Ozai finally rose and waved her away. She never knew where he retired to, and she didn’t really care to find out; the Fire Lord’s chambers were sure to be extravagant, but she hoped she never had to see them unless they were passed down to Zuko. 

As the sun began setting and she practically ran down the corridors back to her own room, Yzako nearly ran into a figure, stopping just in time to avoid plowing into Min as she left her quarters. 

“You’re just who I wanted to see,” Yzako said, looping their arms together and leading her friend through the hall. 

“And why is that?” Min asked, a little amused by her behavior. 

“I was hoping you would help me choose some vacation clothes.”

Min smiled, but quirked her head to the side slightly. Yzako was trying to look calm, but she could tell that something was bothering her. “Going somewhere soon?”

“The Fire Lord is sending me to Ember Island for a few days.” she said. “So I need you to take care of things here for me.”

Min’s eyes narrowed, but she kept that pleasant smile on her face. She knew that meant something more along the lines of  _ I need you to find out exactly why Ozai is kicking me out of the house for the weekend.  _ “Of course, Golden Dragon. You know I’ll do my best.”

Yzako nodded. She was sure that Min would get to the bottom of things to the best of her abilities, and if she couldn’t get any useful information out of anyone, then one of the other girls could. As much as she didn’t want to be away from the palace, she would at least still be able to keep Zuko close and safe, and keep a watchful eye on Azula at the same time. There had to be a good reason that Ozai would send them  _ all _ away at once, and she was determined to figure it out, whether he wanted her to or not. 


	67. The Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of things! I'm way happier with this chapter than I was with the last one. Ember Island is one of my favorite places in the ATLA universe, and it has so much potential for fun nonsense in this fic! But I have to say, I am already SICK of Ruon-Jian and the fact that his name is literally just a surf shop lmfao

“I’m so excited to spend the weekend on Ember Island!” Ty Lee said happily. She stretched her arms up behind her head, sighing contentedly as the sea breeze blew through her hair. “It’s gonna be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing.”

“Doing nothing is a waste of time,” Zuko growled from his seat. “We’re being sent away on a forced vacation. I feel like a child.”

“Lighten up.” Azula scoffed. “So Dad wants to meet with his advisors alone without anyone else around. Don’t take it personally.”

Her brother stood, stalking over to lean on the railing. The sky was clear, the ocean a deep blue. He had been woken that morning to find Yzako already off working for the throne, and then immediately informed that he was to join his sister and her friends on Ember Island for the weekend. 

Needless to say, it put him in a bad mood.

“Are you just mad that your girlfriend isn’t here?” Mai rolled her eyes.

He rounded on her with a snarl. “So what if I am?”

“Come on, Zu Zu.” Azula said. “Yzako has an important job to do. I, for one, am glad to be away from that big dragon of hers.”

“I think he’s pretty cool!” Ty Lee piped up. “Cool—like  _ Kul,  _ get it?”

When no one else laughed at her joke, she giggled to herself and then waved them away. “Whatever. Doesn’t your family have a house on Ember Island?”

“We used to come every summer when we were kids,” Azula said.

“That must have been fun!”

“That was a long time ago.” Zuko growled. 

A long,  _ long _ time ago. Back before Ozai had taken the throne. Back when they were almost...normal. 

“Well, won’t it be fun to see it again?” Ty Lee asked, undeterred. “I’ve always wanted to visit!”

“It’s nothing special.” Mai said blandly. “Just...sand. Trees. More sand. It’s stupid.”

At the sound of his ex’s monotone voice, Zuko found himself really,  _ really  _ wishing Yzako had come along. At least her bad moods were more explosive and he could actually do something about them. Mai had always been so bland, hating the entire world and constantly moaning and groaning about it. He didn’t know how he had managed to date her before his banishment. 

Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment. 

Some punishment...maybe that’s what he was in the mood for. When he straightened up, he felt a familiar soreness on his back, smirking slightly as he recalled the sensation of Yzako’s claws tearing him apart. It had been days since they last fucked, but those wicked talons of hers left marks that faded slowly. 

Just like the rest of her.

“Look, there it is!” Ty Lee jumped onto the railing, pointing towards an island as it appeared in the distance. 

“It shouldn’t be long now.” Azula said. “Lo and Li are waiting for us already. They sailed over last night to prepare their family beach house for our arrival.”

At the thought of Azula’s trainers and advisors, Zuko groaned. The old ladies were  _ fine,  _ he  _ guessed,  _ but they weren’t exactly his idea of fun. 

As their little boat approached the docks leading up to private residences, he caught sight of the two elderly women waiting for them, standing side by side like always. He also caught sight of the tiny shack they called a beach house and resisted rolling his eyes. It was nestled between vacation mansions more like the one his father owned, and honestly, that’s what he had been expecting; a sprawling, luxurious dwelling to spend the weekend in, not...this.

“Welcome to Ember Island, kids,” Lo and Li said together as the boat docked. They were wearing matching pink short sleeved robes and wide sun hats, both smiling up at Azula as the princess stepped down. 

She was less than impressed with their weekend residence, her expression matching Zuko’s feelings. As they followed Lo and Li up the winding wooden steps to the house, Ty Lee was the only one smiling, her eyes wide as she looked around at the hillside and the palm trees in wonder.

“I can’t wait to explore the island!” She said.

“There will be plenty of time for that,” Lo said, smiling over her shoulder.

“Let’s get you kids settled in first.” Li mirrored her sister.

Zuko found it unsettling. 

When he stepped through the curtain and into their house, he was even more unsettled. 

Everything was covered in red and pink, seashells and little trinkets hanging from whatever surface they could. There was hardly any blank space in the cramped room, two beds pushed up against the walls, a low table surrounded by cushions situated in the center. 

“It smells like old lady in here,” he hissed.

“Gee, I wonder why,” Mai rolled her eyes.

“Who are these two beautiful women?” Ty Lee asked, pointing to a painting of two scantily-clad girls on the wall.

“Can’t you tell? It’s Lo and me!” 

“Can’t you tell? It’s Li and me!”

The old ladies spoke at the same time, mimicking the pose in the artwork, hands on their knees as they pushed their rears up against each other. 

Zuko just stared. Well, at least they were still spritely in their old age.

Ty Lee bounced away, flopping down onto one of the bed. “Ooh, I love this seashell bedspread!”

“Are you serious? It looks like the beach threw up all over it.” Mai said. 

“We know you’re upset that you were forced to come here this weekend.” Li straightened up.

“But Ember Island is a magical place. Keep an open mind.” Lo said. 

“Give it a chance,” Li nodded.

“And it can help you understand yourselves and each other.” they said together. 

Lo reached for the table and picked up a tone, handing it to her sister. “The beach has a special way--”

“--Of smoothing even the most ragged edges.” Li rubbed her palm over it before setting it down again. 

Azula yawned dramatically. “That’s all good and well, but we aren’t here for any lessons.”

The old ladies nodded together and clapped. “Time to hit the beach!” They tossed their robes off to reveal pink bathing suits that hugged their elderly bodies all too tightly. “We’ll wait for you kids outside. Your things arrived earlier this morning, and you’ll find your bags waiting on the beds for you.”

“Well, they’re fun!” Ty Lee exclaimed after they had left.

“Quite,” Azula rolled her eyes. “Well, chop chop. Everyone, get changed. The sooner we go see the beach, the sooner something more  _ interesting _ will happen.”

They all split up, finding dividing screens or other rooms to slip out of their day clothes and into something more appropriate for their tropical vacation. Zuko reached into the bag that had been packed for him and pulled out a pair of red and gold knee-length shorts, pulling them on and securing them with a belt. After a moment of thought, he reached for a matching silk robe and put it on as well. He didn’t need everyone giving him shit about the gashes spanning his back, not when he was already in such a bad mood. 

When they regrouped in the main room, Azula looked at her brother and scoffed. 

“What?” he snapped. 

“Are you really wearing a  _ robe  _ to the beach?” she asked. She was dressed in a two-piece red outfit, a halter top wrapped around her chest and a short skirt sitting low on her hips.

“Why do you care?” her brother huffed.

“That  _ is _ a little funny, Zuko,” Ty Lee smiled innocently. She wore a white bikini, the top hugging her breasts while the skirt barely reached her upper thighs.“And you’ll get way too warm! Look at what the rest of us have on. Plenty of skin for plenty of sun!”

“Hiding something, Zuko?” Mai asked, folding her arms over her chest. She was dressed the most modestly, as usual, in a strapless red bandeau and a long skirt that split up the sides. 

Zuko made a noise of annoyance. So much for keeping them all off his ass. He almost couldn’t believe it, but he was finding himself wishing that he had been forced to go on vacation with Min and the other girls from Ba Sing Se rather than his sister and his ex. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.” he growled, heading for the door. 

The girls looked at each other and Ty Lee shrugged. 

When they met with Lo and Li, they were informed that it was only a short walk to Ember Island’s nicest public beach, and so, with few bags slung over their shoulders, they made their way down the road. It wasn’t long before the volcanic sand came into view, and as Lo and Li peeled off to find themselves a nice shady spot to relax, the three youths found themselves looking for a suitable place to lay down their blankets.

The beach was busy, but not too crowded. The children of Fire Nation nobles were everywhere, teens and young adults swimming in the shallow edge of the ocean while their younger siblings ran around. As he felt the hot, black sand beneath his toes, Zuko could remember all the times he and his own family had come there, and the way he had played on the Fire Lord’s private stretch of beach. Things had been nicer then. 

But those days were long behind him. 

Azula took the lead, walking until she found a few children building a sand castle that she considered utterly pathetic. With a swift downward kick, the castle was destroyed, the kids were scattering, and she had chosen her perfect spot. 

“Isn’t this lovely?” she asked, hands on her hips as she surveyed her little kingdom, ignoring the others as they laid out their blankets and Mai put up her umbrella. “No meetings, no training, no  _ dragons... _ just a nice, calm vacation. Just what we all need.”

“Hey, what’s that big crowd over there?” Ty Lee asked, pointing towards a group of people down the beach. They all seemed to be clustering around something--or someone--and as she turned to look Azula just shrugged. 

“Well, let’s go see! Maybe it’s someone famous!” Ty Lee dropped her bag, running off.

Mai groaned but followed her, albeit at a much slower pace. Azula looked angry for a moment but brushed it off, looking at Zuko expectantly. He sighed and walked with her, not really looking forward to whatever they were going to find. It was probably just some local celebrity, nobody that any of them knew or cared about. 

Ty Lee weaved past people, disappearing from view. Azula followed in a much more brutal fashion, shoving beachgoers out of her way and carving a path for Mai and Zuko. When she was finally clear of the throng of onlookers, though, she wished she hadn’t decided to play along with Ty Lee’s little games, after all. 

Sitting there in a bamboo beach chair was none other than a yellow-bikini-wearing, golden-collared,  _ smug _ little Yzako, surrounded by young people all competing for her attention while a few women braided flowers into her hair and polished her claws.

Azula looked like she was going to scream. 

“Golden Dragon, can I get you anything?” a man asked hopefully. 

“No, me!” another man pushed him out of the way. “What can I get you?”

Yzako peered up at them. “Why don’t you both go get me a snack?”

“Of course!”

“Right away!”

They sprinted off, kicking up sand in their hurry to please her. Yzako sighed, closing her eyes, only to open them again as a shadow was cast over her. 

“Wow!” Ty Lee exclaimed. “I didn’t know you would be here, Yzako!”

“Indeed,” Azula growled, coming to stand next to her cheery companion. “Well, at least Zu Zu will stop whining now.”

“I was  _ not _ whining!” Zuko snapped, knocking into Azula’s shoulder as he walked past her and stood before Yzako. His harsh expression melted into a relieved smile as she grinned up at him, his heart jumping when he saw her sitting there being pampered, just like she should be. 

“Yeah, he was  _ moping, _ ” Mai said. 

Yzako was so glad to finally see them that she wasn’t even irritated with Zuko’s gloomy ex. “About time you guys showed up. I’ve been sitting around all day waiting for you.”

“All day?” Zuko asked. He wanted to go sit with her, or take her hand, or kiss her, or  _ something, _ but he knew he had to wait until they were finished with her hair before he could try to swoop in. Otherwise, she would snap and snarl and whine at him, and he didn’t feel like dealing with any of that now.

“The Fire Lord insisted I leave for the weekend. Something about taking a break and how he didn’t want to be disturbed.” Yzako rolled her eyes. “So I left this morning.”

“Why didn’t you sail over with us?” Ty Lee asked, looking at the ladies working on Yzako’s nails enviously. 

“Oh, I flew.”

Azula’s expression only grew angrier. “Don’t tell me…”

The sand around them suddenly began rumbling and shifting, bystanders running out of the way as something began to emerge. Horns and scales came into view, a massive creature raising itself from where it had been buried in the warm beach and shaking its head once it was free. 

“Kul!” Ty Lee shouted happily. 

The crowd gasped, applauding as the dragon bellowed. Sand rained down from his mane as his neck arched into the sky, his eyes finding Zuko and his jaws parting to let out a happy sound. 

Azula looked like she was going to explode.

Zuko noticed his sister’s displeasure and smirked. Yeah, she definitely didn’t like Yzako, and judging by the fact that he had never seen her show such outward aversion to something the way she did this dragon, she was more scared of Kul than she would ever admit. Knowing how much the princess didn’t want to face this massive serpent on their weekend off was starting to make a vacation sound pretty good all of the sudden, and Zuko found himself hating the concept of spending some time on the island less and less.

“H-here’s the drink you wanted!” a scrawny man pushed his way forward, half of a coconut with a little bamboo straw sticking out of the top held out for Yzako.

She took it with her free hand, waving him away again. Kul leaned down, taking a sniff and growing so bold as to attempt a taste.

“Go get your own,” Yzako growled, holding the drink away as if she were dealing with a begging dog and not an ancient, massive dragon.

“Well, this has been  _ lovely,  _ but our things are quite a ways away.” Azula turned to leave. “Perhaps we’ll speak again later. Come on, Ty Lee, Mai.”

“But I want one of those drinks!” Ty Lee said.

“Just have one of these boys go get you one,” Yzako shrugged. “The beach is crawling with them.”

Ty Lee giggled, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re right! Gosh, you’re so smart, Yzako!”

Within moments, three young men were drawn to the sound of her laugh, surrounding her and asking if she needed anything. 

Zuko rolled his eyes. At least they weren’t trying to flirt with  _ his _ girl if they were preoccupied with Ty Lee. He hated seeing so many young men lurking around, hoping that the Golden Dragon would give them an ounce of attention. She should only be focused on  _ him, _ not these no-name assholes.

“Oh my gosh, you’re all so sweet!” Ty Lee said, a huge smile on her face, beaming at the boys around her. “Azula, Mai, do you want anything? I’m sure at least  _ one _ of these strong,  _ handsome _ boys will grab us whatever we want!”

Yzako snorted in amusement, sipping her drink. Azula was far less than pleased with this outcome, her irritation written all over her royal face. The poor princess had probably thought she would get a nice break from dragons this weekend, but alas; peace and quiet didn’t seem to be in the cards for her. She also seemed to be angry at Ty Lee, giving a sharp  _ hmph _ and turning her head away when a drink was offered to her. Was she... _ jealous _ that the other girls were so much better at attracting attention than she was? 

“Ty Lee, this is stupid.” the princess huffed. “We have better things to be doing with our time.”

“Like what?” Ty Lee asked, accepting a coconut from one of the boys that had come running back first. “Aren’t we supposed to be on vacation?”

“You  _ did _ say we should be relaxing,” Mai agreed, taking her own drink and sipping on it. She made a n unhappy face, like always, but she didn’t stop. 

“Like…” Azula paused, looking around. When she caught sight of a group of people playing some kind of game, she grinned. “ _ That. _ Come on, beach bums. We’re playing next.”

Yzako followed her gaze. “Have fun. We’ll, uh...cheer you on from the sidelines.”

“Excellent plan.” Azula smirked, already marching off through the sand. “Ty Lee, come on. You too, Zu Zu.”

With a loud slurp, the acrobatic girl finished her drink, handing the empty coconut to a nearby boy and flipping onto her hands to walk after Azula. Zuko offered Yzako his hand, pulling her to her feet. He planted a kiss on her cheek, earning a loud noise of disgust as Mai stalked past them. Yzako glared after her for a moment, ready to find some way to retort, but Zuko pulled her focus back to him with an arm around her waist as he led her after his sister. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, squeezing her against his side.

“I’m glad you finally decided to show up,” she teased, stretching up to kiss his cheek. “Were you grumpy when I was gone this morning?”

He rolled his eyes, paused, and then nodded, admitting to it. “I was...I thought my father was letting you stay for whatever secret meetings he’s having this weekend.”

“Ah, so you were  _ jealous. _ ”

“No!” 

She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, alright. Whatever you say.”

“Why did you fly here?” he asked, changing the subject. “You could have just sailed with us and saved yourself the trouble.”

“The Fire Lord wanted to make sure I wouldn’t run off again.” she said, staring forward. “He was testing my loyalty one last time. I’m sure Lo and Li have spotted me by now and sent word back to him. He’ll be happy to see that I behaved and didn’t disappear.”

Zuko frowned slightly, but decided against pursuing the topic any further. They had reached the edge of the circular court Azula had been headed towards, the princess smiling confidently as she watched the players kicking a ball over a net. The rules seemed simple enough; don’t let the ball touch the ground, and destroy your opponents. 

People scattered as Kul lumbered along, plopping down in the sand to watch as the current game finished. As Zuko left Yzako’s side, she stood in front of her dragon, still sipping her drink and watching with narrowed eyes as the winning team sized up their new challengers. They seemed like they were pretty good at this...but they had never had to deal with Azula or her drive for victory. 

The crowd regathered, curious to see if the reigning champs would finally be defeated and even more curious about the giant gold dragon sitting courtside. A small group of girls clustered together near Yzako, whispering excitedly as they caught sight of Zuko dramatically pulling his robe off, their hushed voices turning into squeals and shrieks when they saw how well muscled his torso was. 

Yzako pouted, rolling her eyes at them. She knew she shouldn’t care, but ever since her heat back in Ba Sing Se, she had felt a little... _ territorial _ when it came to Zuko. She didn’t want anyone taking him away from her, a low growl rising in her throat as the girls grew louder and louder, trying to get his attention. They cheered and called for him, but he barely spared them a glance, turning away towards Azula to strategize instead. 

With his back to them, the girls--and Yzako--all got a good look at the long red marks that spanned the length of it, and it was more than obvious what they were from. Yzako smirked to herself as she recalled leaving them there, looking down at her own shiny black claws and appreciating what they were capable of. When she looked back up, she saw that the girls’ faces had all dropped dramatically, deep blushes on their cheeks as they realized that not only was this guy hot, this guy also  _ fucked. _

As they turned to look at Yzako, they found her with a smug expression, still admiring the claws that were very clearly capable of leaving red gashes on men’s backs. The girls were both envious of her and curious, about more than a few things. 

“So,  _ that’s _ what you were trying to hide from us!” Ty Lee giggled.

Zuko grimaced at her. “Whatever.”

“Well, well, looks like your girlfriend has a lot of fun with you.” Mai said. “Wonder if she ever lets  _ you _ on top.”

“Shut up!”

“Focus and huddle up.” Azula ordered. “See that girl on the opposing team with the silly pigtails? When she runs towards the ball, there’s just the slightest hesitation of her left foot. I’m willing to bet a childhood injury has weakened her. Keep serving the ball to her left, and we’ll destroy her  _ and _ the rest of her team. Dismissed.”

They all straightened up again, nodding to the other team to signal that they were ready. Yzako watched as Azula served the ball, knowing fully well that she was bound to have already come up with some brutal strategy to all but kill their opponents. She kicked the ball over the net with so much force that it shot straight past the other team, burying itself in the sand as they all stared at her. 

Yeah, they were outmatched. 

The rest of the game continued similarly. Ty Lee jumped as high as she could, landing on top of the net at one point while Mai ran from the end of the court faster than Yzako had ever seen her move. Zuko and Azula worked in tandem, the prince sliding across the sand for low, powerful kicks while his sister used his back as a springboard. They sent the ball sailing towards Yzako more than once, and Kul was happy to either knock it back into play with his wing or catch it in his mouth and drop it back over the net. 

On one occasion, he missed, the ball flying between his horns and landing near two young men lounging nearby. Kul got up to chase it, but when he got close, he regarded them with a low growl that had Yzako sprinting over before he could do anything to them. 

“Kul, be friendly!” she yelled, skidding to a stop and picking the ball up. She glanced at the men, barely looking them over before she turned again. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem.” the one with his hair up said smoothly. “Name’s Chan. What’s y--”

He was interrupted by the dragon’s tail flicking some sand up into his face as it left. Chan shook his head, sputtering as he wiped himself off. His friend laughed loudly at him, earning a sharp glare.

“What’s her deal?” Chan huffed, climbing to his feet. 

They stared at her as she left, the big dragon following her back towards the court. Both boys took the chance to admire her retreating form, appreciating the swing of her hips and the way her thick ass moved when she kicked the ball back into play. With a couple of smirks and a glance at each other, they decided to pursue her, appearing at her side as she watched the game.

“Hey, you left me hangin’ back there,” Chan said, trying to act as charming as possible. 

“Oh, I didn’t notice.” she continued staring forward.. Her attention was on Zuko, her arms folded over her chest as she watched him. 

“Name’s Chan, and this is Ruon-Jian.” the boy said. “What’s your name?”

She finally glanced at him, giving him a once over. Chan flexed his arms slightly, smiling down at her as he tried to keep her attention on him. “...Yzako. You might know me as the Golden Dragon.”

His and Ruon-Jian’s faces fell for a moment, but they quickly regained their composure and signature smirks. With high ranking Fire Nation military leaders for fathers, they had both heard of the Fire Lord’s pet dragon. They had also heard about how powerful she was, and how close the Fire Lord liked to keep her to himself. Once they had gotten past the shock of learning her identity, though, both boys could agree that she was a  _ catch,  _ and just the sort of girl they wanted to impress and woo into bed.

“Tight,” Chan remarked, nodding approvingly. “Come here often?”

“No, actually.” Yzako glanced at him. 

“This your first time on the island?” Ruon-Jian asked, flipping his hair out of his face. 

“It is.”

“Well, we both so happen to  _ live  _ here.” Chan flashed a perfect smile at her, though she barely noticed. Her eyes were busy following Zuko’s movements, appreciating the way his muscles moved as he helped Azula score the winning goal. 

“We could show you around,” Ruon-Jian said, trying to get Yzako’s attention. 

As Azula lit the net on fire, Yzako finally turned to face the two boys. They were run of the mill, cookie-cutter,  _ handsome, _ obviously the sons of important diplomats or admirals or something similar. They were cocky, arrogant, and annoying...but before she could snap at them to do something useful or leave her alone, Ty Lee came bounding over, grabbing her arm and jumping happily.

“We won! Did you see? Did you?” she asked.

“I did,” Yzako smiled, allowing the peppy girl to force her into bouncing with her. “You were great.”

“You and Kul were  _ such _ great support!” Ty Lee beamed. “I bet we couldn’t have done it without you guys!”

Chan and Ruon-Jian’s eyes were glued to the girls’ chests as they bounced, sharing a smirk with each other before Chan spoke up. 

“You know, I’m having a party tonight. You should come by.” he said with that charming smile. 

“Sure!” Ty Lee said. “I love parties!”

“Your friend back there should come too,” Ruon-Jian nodded towards Mai as she walked up to join them. 

“Come where?” she asked, stopping with her hand on her hip. 

“These nice boys just invited us to a party tonight!” Ty Lee exclaimed. “Isn’t that fun?”

“Riveting.”

“Uh, what about me and my brother?” Azula asked, stalking up with Zuko in tow. “Aren’t you going to invite  _ us?” _

Chand Ruon-Jian looked her over, seeming unimpressed. 

“You don’t know who we  _ are, _ do you?”

“Uh, don’t you know who  _ we _ are?” Chan scoffed. “We’re Chan and Ruon-Jian.”

“Yeah,” Ruon-Jian flipped his hair out of his eyes again. 

Yzako rolled her eyes. They were  _ insufferable, _ a couple of pompous boys who had no clue who they were dealing with. She had no desire to go to the party, no matter how badly Ozai wanted her to learn how to socialize with Fire Nation nobles. When she noticed the dark smirk on Azula’s face and the clever gleam in her eyes, though, she realized the princess had some kind of scheme already in motion, and Yzako was intrigued. Attending the party probably wouldn’t be fun...but fucking with people who had no idea who most of their group was? Now  _ that _ was sure to be entertaining. 

The two made eye contact, and in that moment, they managed to form some kind of quick, unspoken truce. The princess saw that these idiots had already latched onto Yzako, and she wanted the Golden Dragon to get her and Zuko in with them. Azula gave her the tiniest nod, one that anyone else was sure to miss, and Yzako gave one in return. 

It’s not like there was much else to do on Ember Island, anyways. 

“ _ Chan _ and  _ Ruon-Jian _ live on the island,” Yzako spoke up, shifting her weight towards Chan slightly. 

Chan noticed the movement, smirking when he saw that she was closer to him. He thought for sure that he had finally managed to tear her attention away from the scarred loser she had been so focused on, and it gave his ego a little boost. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“We’re kind of a  _ big deal _ around here,” Ruon-Jian agreed. 

“Then it would be  _ so _ nice of you two to invite  _ all  _ of our friends,” Yzako said, tilting her head to the side slightly as she smiled up at Chan through her lashes. “Right, Ty Lee?”

“Oh, yeah!” Ty Lee agreed, looping her arm through Yzako’s and smiling brightly. “They’re  _ super _ fun. They should totally come!”

Azula folded her arms over her chest, grinning as she saw her plan already playing out perfectly. When a fuming Zuko tried to storm past her to put himself between Yzako and Chan, she stopped him with an outstretched hand, holding him back lest he ruin things. 

“Well…” Chan looked down at Yzako and Ty Lee, no doubt getting an eyeful of their full chests that were oh so enhanced by their bikinis. “Fine. They can come too. Just so you know, though...some of the most important people in the Fire Nation are gonna be at this party, so...try and act normal.”

“We’ll do our best,” Azula said with a menacing grin. 

“I’m sure you boys have an  _ awful _ lot to get ready,” Yzako said, batting her eyelashes. “We don’t want to take up anymore of your time.”

“We’ll see you later, okay?” Ty Lee asked, smiling so wide her eyes closed. 

“Heh, yeah.” Ruon-Jian flipped his hair for what felt like the thousandth time. 

“Catch you girls later,” Chan said, winking at them before turning to leave with his friend. 

“Bye!” Ty Lee waved. 

Yzako immediately spun around on her heel. “I hated every second of that and you  _ owe me.” _

Azula just smiled, shrugging her off. “We’ll address that matter later.”

“They were pretty nice!” Ty Lee said as Azula led their group back towards their umbrellas and blankets. “Kinda full of it, though.”

“They were thick headed assholes,” Mai rolled her eyes. 

“But nice!”

Yzako fell into step next to Zuko, his arm immediately going around her waist and pulling her up against his side so quickly that she almost spilled her coconut drink. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw set angrily as he stared ahead. 

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Yzako asked, slipping her free arm around his waist. “Are you jealous?”

“No.” he said quickly. 

She smiled gently. “Upset that those dickheads weren’t gonna invite you to their party?”

“They were looking at you like you were a piece of meat,” he growled. 

“The cutest piece of meat on this beach!” she said. 

He didn’t appreciate her joke, glaring down at her instead of laughing. “Why didn’t you tell them to get lost?”

“I barely even gave them the time of day until Ty Lee came up and they invited us to their stupid party,” she rolled her eyes, leaning into him. “I was too busy watching that delicious hunk out on the court.”

“Who?” he snarled. 

“You, stupid.” she laughed, her giggles only getting louder when his face fell in embarrassment. 

“Oh...right.” he looked back up. “You, uh...look really nice today, by the way.”

“I’ve never worn something like this, but it pushes my tits up a lot.” Yzako looked down at herself, regarding her chest. “Does it look good?”

He tugged her to stop. “Baby...it looks incredible.”

As he leaned down to kiss her, she stood up on her toes, meeting him halfway and smiling against his lips. “I’m so glad we  _ finally  _ get to have a vacation together, Zuko.”

He sighed happily, hugging her up against him with both arms around her waist, his hands creeping down to her butt. “I am, too…”

Before he had the chance to be more romantic, Zuko was interrupted by Kul shoving his nose against his back, the dragon nearly shoving him into the sand. He let go of Yzako, his hands balling into fists as he got ready to yell at the big serpent who had gotten in his way. 

“What’s your deal?” he snapped. 

Kul just chirped and chortled, looking at him with big eyes. 

“I think he wants a kiss, too,” Yzako laughed. “He missed you this morning.”

“I am  _ not _ kissing you.” Zuko growled. 

Kul bayed sadly, shoving his nose against him again. 

“Just give him a little peck on the snout!” Yzako said, tears in her eyes as she bellowed with laughter. 

“No way!”

The dragon looked so sad that Zuko didn’t stand a chance. With a loud  _ ugh, fine! _ , the prince motioned for him to come closer, pressing a tiny little kiss against Kul’s nose the way one might kiss the top of their cat’s head. The dragon gave a happy cry, and before Zuko could jump away, a long, forked tongue was licking up the side of the prince’s face. 

“Don’t you  _ ever _ do that again,” he growled, pointing an accusatory finger at Kul.

“Aw, he likes you!” Ty Lee called, running up. “Me next! Can I kiss his nose too? I wanna pet him! What do dragons like?”

As she and Kul began playing, Yzako sat herself down on Zuko’s blanket, stretching out under the sun and sighing happily. He stood above her for a moment, admiring her as she laid on the beach, her skin almost seeming to glow in the bright, warm sunlight. She looked perfect, totally at ease as the ocean waves lapped gently at the shoreline. Gulls shrieked overhead, flying on the breeze as they searched for any food scraps they could steal. It was just like he remembered, the dark, his feet sinking into the dark sand as he sat down next to Yzako. 

“So...do you like it here?”

She opened her eyes, looking up at him. “I love it. It’s so nice and warm...no stuffy ministers to deal with, no Fire Lord breathing down my neck.”

He leaned back on his elbow as he looked out at the sea. “Good. We’ll come here a lot more, especially when we’re married and have our own beach house.”

He expected some kind of clever retort about marriage, but Yzako only smiled. “I’d like that, I think. I’d like that a lot.”


	68. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept listening to old Kesha albums while I was working on this one and I think it shows LOL

The sun was still high in the sky, though it was slowly beginning its descent towards the western horizon. A few birds were soaring on the warm updrafts above the beach, peaceful, minding their own business...until a huge set of jaws came snapping down towards them and they scattered.

“Kul, come on! Leave them alone!” Yzako called over the roar of the wind.

The dragon grumbled at her. Ever since she and Ty Lee had climbed onto his neck, he had been chasing gulls through the sky, trying to catch them halfheartedly. 

“This is so much fun!” Ty Lee screamed, her arms around Yzako’s waist, her ponytail whipping around behind her as Kul pumped his wings a few times and flew over the water. “I can’t believe you get to do this all the time!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” Yzako grinned, glancing back at her. “Let go of me and just hold on with your legs!”

Ty Lee didn’t need any further encouragement, her thighs squeezing around Kul as she threw her hands into the air and shrieked at the sensation of the wind in her fingers. “This is amazing!”

Yzako laughed, tossing her arms up, too. The two had been on Kul’s back for the better part of a half hour already, hanging on as the dragon flew in circles and looped around, their hair wet from the clouds. They were both shrieking with laughter, and Yzako was enjoying Ty Lee’s company more than she ever thought she would. There was nothing about the bubbly girl that she didn’t like, and she even got along perfectly with Kul. Yzako almost couldn’t believe that they hadn’t spent more time together before this, but then again, she had only ever interacted with Ty Lee while under Azula’s stern gaze, and the last time they had really been in the same room was shortly after the fall of Ba Sing Se. Now, with the wind at their backs and the sun on their faces, they were both free to enjoy the fun of Ember Island...though there was one thing they hadn’t done yet. 

Without warning, Kul tucked his wings in against his body, holding himself rigidly as he dove towards the water. Yzako and Ty Lee barely had a chance to grab onto his mane, their legs straining around his neck as they screamed. When they hit the crystal clear water, they both let go, swimming up and breaking the surface with huge smiles on their faces. Kul swam beneath them, his body twisting in circles as he made his way back up, his head eventually breaching the waves. 

“THAT WAS SO FUN!” Ty Lee yelled. 

Back on the beach, Azula was watching their antics from the safety of a beach blanket. Zuko and Mai were sitting on either side of her, pointedly ignoring each other. The princess rolled her eyes. Their silence was practically deafening. She didn’t care about their stupid history, but she  _ did _ care about the way they were acting now. 

“You two had better talk this out.” she said suddenly. 

“What?” Zuko picked his head up, staring at his sister. 

“This.” she waved her hand. “This  _ thing. _ It’s... how do you say it?  _ Bumming me out. _ Just have your talk and get it over with.”

Mai frowned. “I don’t have anything to say to  _ him.” _

“Oh, please.” Azula said. “It’s so obvious that you hate each other. That’s fine with me, but it’s getting annoying now.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Zuko growled, glaring at her.

She looked back at him, finding nothing but shallow anger in his eyes. She backed off with a shrug. “Fine. But you’ll have to do something about it  _ eventually.” _

Azula stood, dusting her legs off as she looked out towards Yzako and Ty Lee. They were swimming towards the shore, getting closer and closer as Kul followed behind, the waves he created pushing them along. Ty Lee was enjoying herself entirely too much...but Azula couldn’t voice her displeasure about that this weekend, especially not when the two of them had managed to get the princess into that silly party of Chan’s.

“Hey, you two!” Azula yelled as they neared the beach. “It’s getting late. Lo and Li are bound to have dinner prepared for us by now.”

“Azula, you should try that tomorrow!” Ty Le said as she walked up onto the sand. 

“I’ll be sure to put my request in.”

“Careful,” Yzako said as she walked past Azula. “Kul has a tendency to drop people sometimes.”

“Wow, really?!” Ty Lee squeezed water out of her braid. “I want him to drop me next!”

Azula rolled her eyes. “Come on and pack up. We should get back to the house.”

“Okay!” Ty Lee skipped forward, eagerly bouncing over to help Mai fold their blankets and umbrellas up. 

Kul emerged from the water, shaking himself dry over the sand. As Zuko stood and looked up at him, he couldn’t help but admire the way the sun made his golden scales sparkle. He had changed a lot since the prince first saw him; back then, when Kul had appeared to help Avatar Roku destroy the fire sages’ temple, he had been silvery and translucent. He could barely hold his form long enough to fly Zuko and Yzako to safety, disappearing in a puff of mist and going back to sleep for a few days. Now, he was walking and flying and swimming as if it were nothing, his form solid. He was no longer that silvery-blue color, instead appearing as he must have when he was alive. Was it because he was stronger, or was it from Yzako? Zuko knew she spent a fair amount of time meditating out in the gardens with the dragon. Maybe it had something to do with that. 

“Zu Zu, come  _ on,” _ Azula said sternly. 

“Yeah, yeah.” he sighed, leaning down to roll his blanket up. When he straightened back up again, Yzako was standing before him with a heart-melting smile on her face, Kul’s big head looming over her shoulder. 

When he looked at her, he felt like he was falling in love all over again for about the millionth time. Something about Ember Island made her even more beautiful than usual. Maybe it was the way the sun hit her face, or the way the water reflected in her yellow cat eyes, or the way her bikini hugged her in all the right places...but whatever the case, Zuko loved it. He couldn’t wait to come back with her when he owned his own beach mansion and private shoreline. 

“Where are you guys staying?” Yzako asked as Azula led their little troupe up to the road. 

“With Azula’s old lady mentors,” Zuko grumbled. 

“With Lo and Li,” his sister said sharply. “Where are  _ you _ staying, Yzako? There’s hardly any room in their little  _ hut _ for a dragon.”

“Oh, uh…” she paused awkwardly. “The Fire Lord kind of...gave me free reign of his beach house….”

Azula stopped for a moment, looking back at her over her shoulder. “...Well, I certainly hope you enjoy it. Zu Zu and I haven’t been there in years. I’m sure it’s dusty and decrepit now.”

Yzako could feel Zuko stiffen at her side. She hadn’t realized that the rest of them weren’t going to be staying with her. Why would Ozai send her off on her own? Was this some new test for her? What would it even prove?

“Is there something wrong with your family’s old house?” she asked. 

“It’s like Azula said.” Zuko growled. “It’s dusty and decrepit and full of nothing but old memories.”

Yzako frowned, but decided not to pursue the subject any further. 

The house Azula led her to was small, the two old women from the palace waiting outside to greet them. When he saw that he was  _ definitely _ not going to be able to fit through the door, Kul disappeared from sight, fading into nothingness with a low grumble, making sure that  _ everyone _ knew he was displeased about missing out on dinner. 

Lo and Li bowed before leading the humans inside, through the cozy main room to the veranda that overlooked the ocean. A low, round table covered in dishes of food was already waiting for them, and as everyone sat down and began piling seafood onto their plates, Azula spoke up. 

“Lo, Li, we’ve all been invited to a party tonight. Expect us back late.” she said, always going straight to business, never wasting time with any formalities if she could help it.

“A party will be fun for you,” Lo nodded. 

“Yes, and socializing with other Fire Nation youths of similar ranking will help your reputations as well.” Li agreed. 

“Oh, they don’t even know who Zuko and Azula are!” Ty Lee piped up. “I’m pretty sure they recognized Yzako, on account of the whole giant dragon thing, though…”

“Why didn’t you tell those guys who we were earlier?” Zuko asked, grabbing a shrimp from the bowl in the center of the table. 

“I guess I was intrigued,” Azula shrugged. “I’m so used to people worshipping us.”

“They should!” Ty lee said. 

“Yes, I know. And I love it. But for once, I just wanted to see how people would treat us if they didn’t know who we were.” 

“Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate.” Lo said. 

“Ember Island reveals the true you.” Li nodded. 

Yzako glanced up at Zuko. He was staring at the table in front of them, his face set in a serious expression. When she leaned against him, he finally came back to earth from wherever his mind had gone, looking down into her eyes for a long moment as if searching for something. He seemed to find whatever it was, because his lips spread into a small smile and he tugged her closer, leaning on his left hand while he held his chopsticks in his right.

“We shouldn’t be late.” Azula said, eating quickly. “I overheard Chan mentioning that he was going to be partying from  _ dusk  _ til  _ dawn. _ The sun is going to set soon, and we still need to change.”

  
  
  


\---

After dinner, Yzako trudged up the road to the Fire Lord’s beach house alone to get ready. Azula had sent her off with a dismissive wave of her hand, telling her to meet up with them at Chan’s parents’ home  _ soon. _ The princess was obsessed with timeliness, but as Yzako finally reached the secluded mansion, she knew that Azula was going to have to wait for her. The walk was long, and she wasn’t about to be rushed, not even by royalty.

She stepped into the quiet house, lighting a few candles on the walls so that she could see what she was doing. It was lonely, a big, spacious home meant for a royal family, not a lone girl and her dragon. It was obvious that no one had used it in years, everything still perfectly in its place, awaiting the return of its owners. When she had arrived there in the morning to drop her things off before hitting the beach, Yzako had found it quiet, but bearable; now that the sun was setting, though, the silence was becoming deafening, and she changed into her party attire as quickly as she could. 

What was she even supposed to  _ wear, _ though? She had never been to something like this, and she didn’t have the benefit of anonymity that Azula and Zuko suddenly did. Everyone there was going to know who she was, even without Kul at her side. Usually, she enjoyed the fact that her eyes and claws were so noticeable, but now, she wished she could hide them and just be a normal Fire Nation citizen attending a normal party with her normal friends. 

“I sound ridiculous,” she mumbled to herself, finally thinking out loud. “No one is going to care what I wear if they know that I’m within my rights to kill them on the spot. Right?”

Kul’s ethereal growl surrounded her, agreeing. 

“Exactly. So I’ll just wear...this?” she picked up a simple yellow wrap halter top, tossing it around herself in the way that seemed to make the most sense and tying it in the middle of her back. It came with a matching skirt that fell to her mid-thigh, a red sash wrapping around her hips. 

When she was finished, she paused in front of a mirror to look at herself. The inner sides of her breasts were visible, squished together by the top. Her midriff was also bare, a comfortable layer of fat that she had developed thanks to Iroh’s cooking and then dinners at the palace giving her more pronounced curves than she had ever had. She turned, seeing that her skirt was hemmed with her thick ass in mind and that her modesty was still somewhat safe. 

“Is it good?” she asked the empty air. 

A cheerful roar sounded, echoing off the walls. Kul was always her number one hypeman--hypedragon?--and tonight was no exception. A gentle breeze rustled her bag, jingling some of her jewelry inside, and Yzako grinned. Of course that’s what she still needed: something shiny. 

Several minutes later, she was marching back down the road, her hair fixed up, her makeup done, and some golden cuffs inlaid with rubies sitting on her wrists. She was confident in her appearance, and no matter how snooty or snobbish Chan’s guests were, they couldn’t hold a candle to her fashion sense.

As she neared the rest of the beach houses, Yzako found one that looked like it could be her mark. Torches were burning brightly in front of it and it was lit up inside, though the lack of a crowd made her think that she was still arriving early, just like Azula wanted. 

When she slipped in through the front door, she saw that the princess had indeed already gotten there...and she was already exhibiting  _ masterful  _ social skills. 

“That’s a sharp outfit, Chan,” Yzako heard her say. “Careful. You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea. Because it’s so sharp.”

Chan only stared at her. 

Yzako used as much energy as she could muster to keep herself from absolutely _ dying _ of laughter. 

“Uh…thanks.” Chan said, giving Azula a thumbs up before turning his back to her. As he did, he caught sight of Yzako at the door and his stupid face lit up happily. “Golden Dragon, there you are!”

He walked towards her and she resisted the urge to punch him for daring to get so close. When she looked past him, she could see Zuko having the same struggle, his nostrils flared angrily as he stood next to Mai. His ex herself was being bothered by Ruon-Jian, who was leaning against a pillar and smiling at her. Yzako could only guess that she was less than impressed. 

“I was starting to wonder why you didn’t show up with the rest of your friends,” Chan said, grinning down at her. 

“I needed a little more time getting ready than they did, that’s all.” she shoved past him. “So where’s the alcohol?”

He stepped back, a little surprised by her change in attitude after she was so friendly on the beach that afternoon, but if he was at all put off, he didn’t show it. “Oh, don’t you worry. We’ve got a whole punch bowl.”

When he followed and tried to put his arms around her shoulders, Yzako ducked out of his reach and kept walking towards the buffet table in the middle of the room. “Really? That’s it? Nothing stronger?”

Chan paused, then jogged a few steps to catch up with her again. “Trust me, it’s good punch. It’s my famous recipe.”

Yzako sighed dramatically and stopped him from coming any closer with a hand on his chest. “Then why don’t you make yourself useful and go get me a cup? A big one.”

“Right away, babe,” he winked at her before jogging away. 

As Yzako wiped her hand off on her skirt, Ty Lee bounced over happily. “You finally came! I’m so glad!”

“I’m going to need  _ so  _ much alcohol to get through this.” Yzako grumbled, straightening up again. 

“You can say that again.” Mai appeared at her other side, her arms folded over her chest. “That idiot with the long hair already won’t leave me alone.”

“Who? Ruon-Jian?” Ty Lee looked around before finally spotting him at the door. More guests were finally starting to arrive, and it seemed that Mai had only managed to escape him because he had to answer the door in Chan’s absence. 

“Yes.” Mai rolled her eyes. 

“Yzako, here you go!” Chan appeared with a large ceramic cup in his hand. 

She took it from him, batting her lashes. “Thanks. Why don’t you be a good little host and get some more for Mai and Ty Lee?”

Annoyance briefly flashed over his features. “But I--”

“Come on, Chan!” Ty Lee smiled up at him. “You’re already  _ such _ a great host. It would make us  _ so  _ happy if you got us some of your famous punch!”

“Your wish is my command,” he said with a grin, disappearing again. 

This was too easy. 

“Hey, don’t talk to that guy!” Zuko growled, stalking up to them. 

Azula wasn’t far behind, joining the rest of their group a moment later. “Come now, Zu Zu. As guests, we should mingle. Let’s get to know these people while we have the chance.”

“Yeah,  _ Zu Zu,” _ Yzako said, sniffing at the drink in her cup before taking a sip. “...This is underwhelming. ‘Famous punch’ my ass. Nevermind, he’s right. Let’s leave and find something better.”

“Yzako.” Azula warned. “Be a team player.”

“Ugh,  _ fine. _ ” she took another sip, this one much more of a gulp. “But one of you might have to carry me out of here later.”

Even Zuko had to snort a laugh at that. 

“Ladies,” Chan said, returning with two cups for Mai and Ty Lee. “Your beverages.”

“Thanks!” Ty Lee said as she took hers. 

“Yeah.  _ Thanks. _ ” Mai said sarcastically. 

“Looks like the party is finally starting. I’ll catch you girls later.” Chan winked before leaving to greet his other guests. 

“We should split up.” Azula said. “It’ll make it easier to strategize.”

“This is a party, not a battlefield.” Yzako rolled her eyes. 

The princess glared at her. “Are they not the same thing,  _ Golden Dragon?” _

Yzako really didn’t have an argument for that. “Good point. Maybe you’re right.”

“As always.” she nodded sharply. “Everyone, commence partying.”

They all turned, Yzako reaching for Zuko. He took her hand, sticking close to her side as she made a beeline for the punchbowl. Her cup was already half empty by the time they got there, and as Zuko got one for himself, she finished hers. 

“Ugh, this stuff  _ sucks.” _ she complained. 

“Sorry it isn’t straight sorghum.” he laughed. 

“...Do you think they have some?” she looked around for a doorway that could lead to a kitchen. “This is some kind of admiral’s house, isn’t it? They always get the nicest bottles.”

Zuko grinned as he realized what she was hinting at. “Think we could steal some?”

“You tell me, Mr.  _ Blue Spirit. _ You’re the expert on that. _ ” _ she stretched up on her toes to give him a quick kiss before dancing away. 

He followed behind her eagerly, grabbing her arm and pulling her in close before she could stray too far. “It’s probably this way. Come on.”

He led her to a doorway, glancing around to make sure nobody was paying attention before tugging her through it. A few minutes later, they were popping the cork on an expensive bottle of aged sorghum, filling their cups with it and cheers-ing each other. 

“Wait, wait,” Yzako said, stopping Zuko before he could take a drink. 

“What?” he asked, irritated. 

“Let’s play a game.” her eyes were shining, a wide grin on her face that he just couldn’t deny. 

“What kind?”

“Let’s see who can chug the fastest.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you spent a fair amount of time on a naval vessel recently. But that couldn’t  _ possibly _ be true.”

She laughed loudly, snorting unattractively. “Yeah, there’s no way you’d ever catch me on one of those. I’m a  _ lady. _ ”

“A lovely lady,” he said smoothly, pressing a kiss against her cheek. 

“Are we doing this, or are you stalling because you don’t want me to find out how much you suck at drinking?” she challenged. 

“Oh, I can hold my liquor.” he said, raising his cup to his lips. “Can you?”

“You already know it,” she grinned. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Go!”

The sorghum stung as it hit her lips, burning her throat as she drank as quickly as she could. It reminded her of the first time she ever tried it, when she had found June the bounty hunter in that bar. She had impressed the bartender that day, and now, as she slammed her cup back down on the counter, she was sure that she had also impressed Zuko. 

...Except that he had finished just a moment before her. 

Yzako was stunned. She had never seen him drink anything other than plum wine before, and that was much milder and easier to stomach that sorghum. He shot her a smug look, filling his cup again before offering her the rest of the bottle. 

“How did you beat me?” she asked, her eyes narrowed. “Did you cheat?”

“No,” he laughed. “Come on. I lived on a ship for most of my banishment. You think I didn’t learn a few tricks before you came onboard?”

“No, you were just so...un-fun, I figured you never drank with the crew.” she said, taking the bottle.

He rolled his eyes. “I can be fun when I want to.”

“I know,” Yzako purred, a hand on his chest as she leaned up to kiss him. “Come on. Let’s take another bottle and go see what the others are doing.”

Out in the main room, Azula was leaning against a pillar grumpily. She had expected socializing to be easy, but it seemed like everyone else was having a much better time than she. Ty Lee was surrounded by boys she had met on the beach that day, Mai was being followed around by Ruon-Jian again, and Yzako and Zuko were nowhere to be found. If they were off fucking each other, she was going to be majorly pissed. 

Movement caught Azula’s eye and she turned to see Ty Lee knocking out the crowd around her, cartwheeling through their paralyzed bodies to stand next to the princess. “I’m glad you’re here! Those boys won’t leave me alone! I guess they all just like me too much!”

Azula huffed, looking away. “Come on, Ty Lee. You can’t be this ignorant.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked. 

“Those boys only like you because you make it so easy for them.” Azula turned back to face her. “You’re not a challenge. You’re a tease. It’s not like they actually care who you are.”

Tears immediately welled up in Ty Lee’s eyes and she hid her face in her hands as she began to sob. Azula’s grimace softened, and she reached for her. If there was one thing she hated more than anything else, it was dealing with her when she cried. 

“Okay, okay, calm down.” she took Ty Lee’s arms in her hands and gently pulled her hands away from her eyes. “I didn’t mean what I said. Maybe I just said it because I was a little...jealous.”

“What?” Ty Lee asked, the tears already gone. “You were jealous of  _ me?  _ But you’re the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl in the world!”

“Well, you’re right about all those things.” Azula turned again. “But for some reason, when I meet boys, they act as if I’m going to do something horrible to them.”

“But you probably  _ would _ do something horrible to them.” Azula turned to see Yzako walking up, a bottle in her hands. 

“She’s right. I’m sure they’re just intimidated by you!” Ty Lee laughed. “Look, if you want a boy to like you, just look at him and smile a lot and laugh at everything he says even if it’s not funny.”

“ _ Especially _ if it’s not funny.” Yzako agreed, raising the bottle to her lips and drinking straight from it. 

“Well, that sounds really shallow and stupid.” Azula said. “Let’s try it.”

Yzako stepped back as Ty Lee assumed the posture of an overconfident boy, leaning against the pillar with her arm outstretched and her legs crossed at the ankles. 

“How ya likin’ this party, sweet sugar cakes?” Ty Lee asked in a comically deep voice. 

Azula responded with a loud laugh that had everyone around them pausing to stare at her. 

“Perfect.” Yzako said, a wide grin on her face. She knew it was terrible. She knew Azula was going to crash and burn and do something stupid. 

She couldn’t wait. 

“Look, there’s Chan over there,” she said, rushing to Azula’s side and pointing her in the right direction. “Take a drink for good luck and go get him.”

She shoved her bottle of sorghum into the princess’s hands, smiling as Azula took a sip and made a disgusted face. Yzako gave her a gentle shove and she was off, headed straight to interrupt Chan’s conversation with a cute girl. 

“Keep your chin up!” Yzako called after her. “Remember to laugh as loud as possible!”

Azula waved her off, walking with purpose. Yzako just shook her head, eager to both have Chan out of her hair and see Azula possibly kill him when she realized how horrible it was to have his undivided attention on her. 

“Wow, where’d you get that booze?” Ty Lee asked sweetly. 

Yzako offered her the bottle. “Kitchen. Want some?”

“Totally! It’s been forever since I had good sorghum!” she took it from her eagerly, taking a drink. “It reminds me of the circus!”

Yzako laughed, leaning against the pillar and taking the bottle back when Ty Lee offered it. “Do you miss it?”

“Oh, definitely!” she nodded. “It’s the most fun I’ve ever had. I started learning acrobatics when I was little to separate myself from all my sisters. Then I turned it into a career!”

“Wow. I have to admit, that’s pretty impressive.” Yzako said. 

“Thanks! Hey, where’s Zuko?”

“That...is a very good question.” she looked around, trying to spot him through the crowd. “I guess I lost him on the way over here.”

“Hopefully he doesn’t burn anybody up,” Ty Lee giggled. “Although he’s a lot more cheerful now than he ever used to be. I think you’re having a positive effect on him!”

“Really?” Yzako asked, taking a drink and then handing her the bottle again. 

“Yeah!” she said. “His aura is so red!”

“What exactly does that mean?”

Ty Lee laughed, taking a drink. “Everybody has a different aura. Like for example, mine is super pink!”

“And Zuko’s is red?” Yzako asked skeptically. 

“Yeah!” she nodded eagerly. “Red is the color of passion and strength. And  _ love.  _ He always had a red aura, but now it’s so strong!”

“What’s mine?” Yzako took the bottle from her again. 

“Oh, yours is totally orange.” Ty Lee said. “You’re so brave and confident all the time...buuuut, you’re a little prone to laziness sometimes. But that’s okay! There’s a downside to every color of aura! That’s just part of what makes us  _ us!” _

Yzako considered her words. Ty Lee tended to say a lot of weird things, but this at least made a little bit of sense. “Yeah, I guess maybe you’re right.”

“Thanks!”

While Yzako and Ty Lee bonded over their bottle of sorghum, Zuko was trying to squeeze through the crowd in search of his girlfriend. He spotted her standing next to Ty Lee, leaning up against a pillar as they laughed loudly. Well, at least  _ they _ were having a good time. He hated this stupid party, and he hated the way that everyone else seemed to be doing so much better than he was. Like Azula, he wasn’t very good at being  _ social, _ and whenever he caught a glimpse of another guy trying to talk to Yzako, his blood boiled. 

“Back off,” he growled, chasing another wannabe suitor off as he approached them. 

“Hey!” Ty Lee greeted with a smile. “Where’ve you been?”

“This is stupid,” he grumbled, leaning with his back up on the pillar. “We should just leave.”

“Zuko, just stay with us and the other boys will be too scared to try to chat us up.” Yzako smiled, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. 

He huffed indignantly, but when he turned to look at her, he saw the happy look on her face and he sighed. He had the feeling he was going to have to put up with this dumb party for at least a little longer, and if she was finally starting to have a good time, then maybe it would be worth it. 

“Fine.” he snatched the bottle of sorghum out of Ty Lee’s hands. “But we’re gonna need to grab another one of these before the night is over.”


	69. The After Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a little longer to update this! I know it was only like a week, but it feels like forever lol. Also this is chapter 69, nice

Zuko wasn’t sure what exactly happened, just that one moment he caught Chan slipping away from Azula to go hit on Yzako again, and the next he was threatening to beat the shit out of him. As it turned out, that wasn’t proper party etiquette, and, surrounded by the glares of the crowd and Mai’s annoying, judgmental voice, Zuko stalked off to be alone and try to cool down. 

Everything was so stupid. That party, the guys throwing it, the way they thought they were  _ so _ cool. Chan and Ruon-Jian were  _ idiots  _ who didn’t know how to keep their hands to themselves, and Zuko wished he could have told them who he really was just so he could see the looks on their faces when they realized they had insulted the crown prince by flirting with his girl. But no. Azula  _ insisted _ they see what it was like to be  _ normal. _

Whatever the fuck that meant.

He couldn’t take another second of watching those two knuckleheads hit on every woman at their party. Azula was the only one who they didn’t seem interested in, and she was obviously furious about it. Zuko could care less about  _ that, _ but he  _ did _ care about the way Chan’s fingers kept trying to creep up skirts.  _ Apparently _ threatening to break the host’s bones wasn’t what you were supposed to do at a party, and as Mai looked on and berated him for “always being such a jealous ass,” Zuko slunk away. 

He couldn’t help it, though. Just like always, he was afraid that Yzako was going to finally wake up and see that she could be with someone better. She was popular, probably even more loved than the entire royal family, and even though Zuko thought things were going well with their courtship and relationship in general, nights like tonight worried him. He knew she loved him. He  _ knew _ they had spoken time and time again about their future. Yzako had reassured him more than once that he was good enough for her, and he didn’t want to keep tempting fate by constantly asking for validation...but he couldn’t help it. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that things were okay, shadows of doubt kept creeping back into his head. At least in the palace he could walk around with his chest puffed out and show her that he was worthy of her attention. Here, while he was pretending to be a  _ normal _ guy, he felt like he had nothing. There was no way to prove to Yzako that he was big and tough, no way to fluff his feathers up and impress her. 

It was like being Lee from the tea shop all over again, only now she wasn’t  _ Kaida _ anymore, she was the illustrious Golden Dragon, and he was just...Zuko.

His feet took him down a familiar path to the beach while he was lost in thought, and when he finally reached a large house, he recognized it. As Zuko stood outside it, he could see a soft glow in the windows, no doubt from a few candles that were lit thanks to Yzako’s stay. He briefly wondered what she thought of the mansion; it was nice, something befitting of the royal family, but it was...lonely. 

It was in better shape than he had expected it to be, but then again, Ember Island was known for its perfect weather, and it was rare that the little paradise ever experienced storms worth talking about. Plus, the Fire Lord still owned this beach house, and someone was bound to be looking after it now again just in case Ozai ever decided he wanted a sudden vacation. 

Not that that was going to happen anytime soon. 

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut. He could remember how much fun he had there as a child, before his father had taken the throne. They used to go there with Iroh and Lu Ten, Zuko’s uncle sitting in the sand with them as he and his cousin made sand castles. From the day he could walk, Zuko would run up and down the beach, playing tag with Lu Ten or chasing gulls as they tried to hunt crabs. Things had been so much simpler then. 

But that was a long,  _ long _ time ago. 

He made his way up the stairs to the front doors and wrenched them open, stalking inside. There were cobwebs in the corners, but other than a few spiders and a layer of dust, everything looked just as it had the last time he was there. What he didn’t expect, though, was to find that the source of the glow wasn’t candles, after all. 

Kul picked his head up, bellowing softly at Zuko’s arrival. He was curled up in the front room, his body coiled up so tightly that Zuko couldn’t tell where he even ended. The dragon’s scales were shining softly, a golden light surrounding him. It seemed to penetrate the darkness of the house, providing some sort of safety net as Zuko approached him.. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked crossly. 

Kul stretched his neck out towards the human, large nostrils flaring slightly as he breathed warm air over him. 

“I don’t know why I expected you to answer.” Zuko rolled his eyes. 

The dragon tilted his head quizzically. 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Zuko stepped around him. “You should just...get out of here. There’s nothing for you here. This house isn’t a happy one.”

Kul moved with him, uncoiling himself. As Zuko walked towards a portrait of his family that hung above an ornate table, Kul followed, taking a few steps and stretching his neck out so that he could peer at it. He seemed to be considering the painting, making quiet warbling sounds in his throat as his big eyes swept over each of the four figures that had posed for the piece. When he spotted the young boy who knelt in front of his father, one of his long whiskers reached forward, the tip brushing over the image before he turned and caressed Zuko’s cheek with it. 

“Knock it off,” Zuko growled, batting him away. When Kul made the same movement again, more forcefully, the prince sighed. “Yes.That’s me. And Azula, and our father, and…” a lump rose in his throat as he looked up at the woman sitting next to Ozai. “...our mother.”

Kul made a sad noise, his breath ruffling Zuko’s hair. 

“We used to come here all the time. Whenever she or my father wanted a break from the palace, we’d sail to Ember Island. Uncle would come, too, when he wasn’t off fighting.” Zuko looked down at the table in front of him, spotting a hard disk made of clay. He picked it up, brushing his fingers over the tiny handprint cemented in the center. 

Suddenly, he felt a tug at the back of his shirt, and only a second later, his feet left the floor. 

“Hey, put me down!” he yelled, holding onto the piece of clay tightly as Kul carried him by his scruff. “You can’t treat me like a child! I’m the prince--”

Kul just grumbled, ducking his head as he squeezed through the front doors. He deposited Zuko on the porch, shoving him with his nose before laying down again. Zuko huffed, righting himself, and was preparing to yell at the dragon when he realized how pointless that would be. Instead, he just sat down, his back against one of the support pillars. He could hear the gentle lapping of the ocean waves on the sand, the beach illuminated by the silvery glow of the moon. Out here, everything was calm, not like the rest of his life. Out here, there was only the sound of the sea and the wind. 

“You know...I wish my father had never become Fire Lord.” he said, thinking out loud. He felt a little silly, talking to Kul about things that he probably didn’t care about, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice in company. “It sounds bad. I shouldn’t even be saying it, but...things were so much easier back when he was a prince.”

Kul made a low rumble in his chest. He was clearly listening, and the affirmation made Zuko feel slightly less foolish. 

“It felt like everything happened all at once. Lu Ten died, then Uncle gave up at Ba Sing Se, then Grandfather died and my mother disappeared and the next thing I know, my father is being crowned and I’m suddenly next in line.” he shook his head, looking down at the tiny clay handprint in his lap. “I wish I could go back to before all that, to when we were happy.”

Kul let out a sad sound, some kind of cross between a howl and a moan. 

“Yeah, well...” Zuko spread his fingers out over his old handprint. How had he been so tiny back then? And when did he grow up so much? “I guess I’ll never get that again.”

The sound of footsteps made him look up. He was surprised to see Azula standing there on the stairs before him, her hand on her hip. 

“I thought I’d find you here.” she said. 

“Those summers we spent here seem so long ago.” he looked back down at his hands. Finally, he put his little handprint down and raised his eyes to the sky. “So much has changed.”

Azula looked at him for a moment. “Come down to the beach with me.” When he didn’t move, she closed the distance between them and offered her hand. “Come on. This place is depressing.”

He put the clay disk down and accepted her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet. As he followed her down the steps and along the sand, Kul joined, walking behind the two royal siblings until they reached a long-abandoned bonfire pit. Zuko could see a few figures sitting on stone benches around it, and as they got closer, one of them jumped to their feet. 

Yzako rushed forward, running through the sand. “Where’ve you been? I was worried sick!”

Zuko kept walking. He was sure she was talking to Kul with the way the dragon paused mid stride, one of his big feet up in the air. When Yzako plowed into the prince, though, he found himself having to wrap his arms around her to keep from falling backwards onto the beach. Her face nuzzled into his chest while her claws poked little holes into the back of his shirt, and while it stung like always, it was the most comforting feeling in the world.

“Were you really worried?” Zuko asked. 

“I was!” Yzako pulled back. 

“Yeah, she really was!” Ty Lee piped up from her seat. “As soon as you stormed off, Yzako totally lost it.”

Zuko smiled softly. He hated that he needed the reassurance...but he was happy to have it.

“And  _ you,” _ Yzako let him go, stepping around him to point an accusatory finger at Kul. “You can’t just  _ do  _ that!”

The dragon looked taken aback, cringing back as Yzako walked towards him angrily. It was comical, such a small girl advancing on such a huge beast with absolutely no fear. As she stomped forward, Kul hurried backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet. He looked like a massive, guilty puppy being scolded by its owner, his head lowered sheepishly as he tucked his wings in close to himself. 

“Oh, don’t look like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Yzako growled, folding her arms over her chest. “One second you’re taking a nap, the next you’re just  _ gone? _ I feel you materialize  _ somewhere _ and I have no idea  _ where _ or why? Don’t play dumb!”

Kul huffed, straightening up slightly and moving his head as if he was rolling his eyes. 

“Don’t act like it was nothing! You scared the shit out of me!”

“You really did!” Ty Lee called. “She was all ‘ _ Oh no, Kul just left, I think I might be dying--’” _

“Ty Lee.” Azula said sharply, cutting her off. 

“...sorry.”

“He was at the old house.” Zuko spoke up. “I found him there.”

Yzako sighed heavily. “I’m just...glad that you’re both safe and sound.”

Kul rumbled, pressing his nose against her gently. She put a hand on his snout, rubbing his scales for a moment. Zuko watched, appreciating the sight. 

“Ugh, get a room.” Mai complained from where she was sitting. She had a shawl wrapped around her hunched shoulders, her fingers pulling it tighter around herself. 

“Don’t mind her!” Ty Lee said quickly, before Zuko could snap at his ornery ex. “She’s just grumpy because it’s so cold out here. At least, I think so. I know I’m freezing!”

“I’ll make us a fire.” Zuko said. He turned, looking up towards the house. “There’s plenty of stuff to burn in there.”

As he turned to leave, Yzako frowned. What was he going to use as kindling? She knew he had bad memories of his family’s vacation home, but everything that she had seen inside it was expensive and beautiful. She didn’t want him to mess any of it up, even if it wasn’t her place to decide what he did and didn’t choose to remember. 

He was already gone, though, marching up the path to the house. With little other choice, Yzako sat down next to Ty Lee, Kul laying down in the sand around them. 

“What do you think he’s getting?” Ty Lee asked. 

Azula shrugged. “It could be anything. There’s tons of useless old junk in there from when we were children. I’m almost curious to see what he brings back with him.”

When he returned shortly after, everyone had their answers. Zuko appeared with his arms full of branches and driftwood, tossing it all down in the empty pit before lighting a fire and turning to grab some portraits he had dragged out of the house. He stood and watched the flames grow bigger and bigger, and once he was satisfied, he began throwing the pictures in.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Ty Lee asked. 

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Zuko asked angrily.

“But...it’s a painting of your family.” she said. 

“You think I care?” his arms were crossed over his chest, his shoulders squared. His entire body was tense as he watched the portrait he and Kul had just looked at together go up in flames. 

“I think you do,” Ty Lee said quietly. 

“You don’t know me, so why don’t you just mind your own business?” Zuko snapped, turning his back to her. 

Yzako winced at his tone. 

Ty Lee sighed. “I know you.”

“No, you don’t!” he snarled, whipping around to face her. “You’re stuck in your little Ty Lee world, where everything’s great all the time!”

“Zuko,” Mai said sharply. “Leave her alone.”

He rolled his eyes, turning his back on them once again to walk several steps away. When he spoke again, his tone was high pitched and mocking. “ _ ‘I’m so pretty, look at me! I can walk on my hands!’” _ He moved forward, leaning into a handstand. He only held it for a moment, letting himself fall onto his back again. “Circus freak.”

“Zuko!” Yzako growled, her voice joined by Kul’s to create a powerful sound that the others all felt in their chests. 

He looked up at her with wide, surprised eyes, catching sight of her unamused face. He suddenly felt guilty, but when he began wondering if he should apologize, Azula broke out into laughter. 

Yzako turned her glare on the princess. Well, it was obvious where he had learned to be such a shithead. “Azula, don’t be mean.”

“Yzako, it’s fine.” Ty Lee mumbled, looking down at her hands. When she raised her head again, she had an angry expression on her face, tears pricking the edges of her eyes. “Yes, I’m a circus freak. Go ahead and laugh all you want. Wanna know  _ why _ I joined the circus?”

“Ugh, here we go.” Azula mumbled. 

“Do any of you have any idea what my home life was like growing up with six sisters who look exactly like me?” Ty Lee said, standing. “It was like I didn’t even have my own name! I joined the circus because I was scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set. At least I’m different now. Circus freak is a  _ compliment.” _

“Guess that explains why you need ten boyfriends, too.” Mai said boredly. 

“I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?” Ty Lee asked, hands on her hips. 

“Attention issues? You couldn’t get enough attention when you were a kid, so you’re trying to make up for it now.”

“Well, what’s  _ your  _ excuse, Mai? You were an only child for  _ years _ but even with all that attention, you aura is this dingy, pasty,  _ gray--” _

“I don’t believe in auras.” Mai cut her off. 

“Yeah, you don’t believe in anything.” Zuko said, finally standing. 

“Oh, well, I’m sorry I can’t be as high-strung and crazy as the rest of you.” she said. 

“I’m sorry, too. I wish you  _ would  _ be high-strung and crazy for once instead of always keeping everything all bottled up inside.” he walked towards them. “She just called your aura  _ dingy. _ You’re just going to sit there and take that?”

“What do you want?” Mai stretched out on her back. “You want a teary confession about how hard my childhood was? Well, it wasn’t. I was a rich only child who got anything I wanted as long as I behaved. And sat still. And didn’t speak unless spoken to.”

Yzako frowned. It reminded her of the way the sages had tried to train her into being obedient. Where they had failed with her, Mai’s parents had clearly succeeded, creating an emotionless, reserved daughter who barely seemed to care about anything around her. 

“My mother said I had to keep out of trouble.” she continued. “We had my father’s political career to think about.”

“Well, that’s it then.” Azula said. “You had a controlling mother who had certain expectations, and if you strayed from them you were shut down. That’s why you’re afraid to care about anything, and why you can’t express yourself. That’s probably why you’re still so upset about Zu Zu, too.”

Mai suddenly sat up, looking angry for the first time in...well, ever. “You want me to express myself? LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“She’s right.” Zuko said, glaring down at his ex. “What’s your deal?”

“My  _ deal _ is none of your business!” Mai snapped, standing up to face him. 

“Then stop making it my business!”

Yzako stared up at both of them, suddenly feeling like she should be literally anywhere else in the world. She didn’t want to be watching two exes fight, especially not when one of them was her boyfriend. The air was tense and awkward, and she had half a mind to go throw herself into the ocean to escape it. 

“Maybe if you weren’t such an insufferable  _ dick _ all the time, we wouldn’t even be having this argument!” Mai yelled. 

“You know, I haven’t exactly had a great,  _ easy _ life either!” Zuko snapped. 

“That doesn’t excuse the way you’ve been acting, especially tonight. Do you even  _ know _ how to  _ not _ make a scene? You’re loud, and you’re angry, and you’re  _ embarrassing,  _ and--”

“Calm down, you guys!” Ty Lee said, finally unable to take it anymore. “This much negative energy is bad for your skin. You’ll totally break out.”

“ _ Bad skin?” _ Zuko snarled. “ _ Normal _ people worry about bad skin. I don’t have that luxury. My father decided to teach me a permanent lesson  _ on my face.” _ he pointed to his scar _. _

Ty Lee looked down. “Sorry, Zuko…”

“For so long, I thought that if my dad accepted me, I’d be happy.” he growled, turning to look at the ocean. “I’m back home now. My dad talks to me. He even thinks I’m a  _ hero. _ Everything should be perfect, right? I should be  _ perfectly happy. _ But I’m  _ not. _ I’m angrier than ever, and I don’t know  _ why. _ ”

“There’s a simple question you need to answer, then.” Azula said. “Who are you angry at?”

“No one!” he turned back towards them. “I’m just  _ angry. _ ”

“Yeah, who  _ are _ you angry at, Zuko?” Mai asked, her voice soft again. 

“Everyone...I don’t know.”

“Is it dad?” Azula asked, looking up at him.

“No…” he shook his head. 

“Your uncle?” Ty Lee offered.

“No, no...I don’t--”

“Me?” Azula asked. 

“No!”

“Then who?” Mai asked. “Who are you so angry at?”

“Answer the question, Zuko.” Azula said impatiently. 

“Talk to us!” Ty Lee said. 

“Come on, answer the question.” Mai’s voice was growing bored. 

“Come on, answer it.” Azula demanded. 

His eyes were darting between them, unable to stay on any one face for too long until he finally caught sight of Yzako sitting there hugging herself. When she noticed his gaze upon her, she looked up at him slowly, her eyes tired and sad. 

“Is it me?” she asked. 

He stared at her. How could she think that? How could he ever be angry at her, at the one person who he never felt any ill will towards? Couldn’t she see that even when she was trying to kill him, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her? Wasn’t it obvious that he would do anything it took to keep her safe and happy? 

As she waited for him to say something, her face just got sadder and sadder. Zuko didn’t know what to do, and he didn’t know how to make her feel better. What was making her think that he was upset with her? What had he possibly done to give her any reason to suspect that he might be angry at  _ her? _ He had never done anything bad to her, never said anything mean, never rejected her or--

His thoughts suddenly stopped racing and his eyes widened. He had, once upon a time. Months ago, he had given her plenty of reasons to doubt him, so much so that she ended up hunting him down to kill him. Zuko had refused to hear her out at the north pole, and she had suffered because of him. He wasn’t perfect, not at  _ all, _ and he had somehow managed to push those memories to the back of his mind and stop thinking about them altogether. How could he forget something so important? 

He hated himself for it. 

So much. 

“I’m angry at myself!” he roared, the bonfire blazing. 

The girls all shielded their eyes from the flames as they jumped into the sky, leaning back to avoid the flying embers. When the fire finally died down again, they righted themselves, and Azula was the first to speak. 

“Why?”

“Because I’m confused.” Zuko admitted with a shake of his head. 

How was he supposed to keep Yzako safe if he was the person putting her in danger? His father thought he was a hero, but Ozai was also the one keeping her on a chain and using her as a war machine. Zuko had thought that living in the palace with Yzako would mean that she had everything she ever wanted, but he was beginning to see that as long as that collar was around her neck, she would never be truly happy. 

“I’m confused, and I’m afraid I don’t know the difference between right and wrong anymore.” he said. 

“You’re pathetic.” Azula rolled her eyes. 

Zuko snorted angrily, but before he could say anything, Yzako was on her feet. “Would it kill you to let your brother be happy for once?” 

Azula stared up at her in surprise, but quickly regained her composure. “Well, what about  _ you _ , Yzako? Would  _ you _ let him be happy?”

Her hands balled into fists. “What are you talking about? Of course I make him happy!”

“You did  _ literally _ try to kill him, on more than one occasion.” Azula shrugged. “Hard to have a happy boyfriend if he’s dead. At least, that’s what I assume.”

“Oh, don’t act all high and mighty,” Yzako growled. “You were practically the one giving me the orders.”

“But I’m not the one who carried them out,  _ am I?” _

“You’re just angry that you’re being called out for it.” Yzako sneered, the bonfire roaring to life again as Kul growled. “You never thought he’d even live to join you on this beach someday. You never expected to be in this position.”

“Oh, you’re certainly one to talk about  _ anger.” _ Azula laughed, holding eye contact with her confidently. “Ever since you first set foot in the palace, that’s all you’ve ever felt. Pure, unbridled,  _ rage. _ You don’t even know how to control it, do you?”

“Azula, that’s enough.” Zuko said, stepping towards his sister. Watching the two of them begin to fight had been incredible, and it felt amazing to see Yzako defending him, but he wasn’t about to let Azula make her cry. He knew more about her than anyone else there, and he knew how deeply his sister’s words could be cutting into her. 

“No, she’s right.” Yzako said angrily. “That’s all I’ve ever felt, since I was given to the fire sages to be broken. That’s all they told me, day in and day out. But wouldn’t you be angry, too? I was taken from my home, where Kul and I could have lived and just been happy. I got to grow up trapped in a temple with nothing but Kul’s rage to entertain me for years. So you can be as mean and snippy as you want, but all you’re doing is stating the obvious.” 

She sat down with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away. 

“Well...why is Kul so angry?” Ty Lee asked. 

“Because  _ their _ grandfather murdered him.” Yzako tossed her head in Azula’s general direction, but Zuko felt the sting of her words. 

He walked up to her, sinking down onto his knees in the sand in front of her. “We aren’t Azulon.”

“ _ You  _ might not be.” Yzako said, avoiding his eyes as Kul gave another low growl. 

Zuko leaned back slightly. Okay, so Azula had seriously,  _ seriously _ pissed her off. 

“Well, those were wonderful performances everybody.” the princess said, choosing not to delve any further into Yzako’s growing hatred for her. She felt the same way, of course, but she wasn’t going to say it so brazenly. For the remainder of the weekend, they needed to get along with each other.

“You wouldn’t understand, would you, Azula?” Zuko asked, turning to look at her. “You’re just  _ so _ perfect.”

“Well, yes.” she said. “I guess you’re right. I don’t have sob stories like the rest of you. I could sit here and complain about how our mom liked Zuko more than me, but I don’t really care.” She glanced down at the fire. “My own mother thought I was a monster.”

Yzako narrowed her eyes. Well, that explained some of it. Ursa loved Zuko, her kindhearted,  _ nice _ child, and she probably yelled at Azula for all the weird terrible things she did as a kid. Did that make her crave Ozai’s approval that much more? Was it part of why she was beginning to seem like she resented Yzako more and more the closer she got to the Fire Lord?

“...She was right, of course, but it still hurt.” Azula said. 

Well, at least she could admit it. 

“What Lo and Li said came true,” Ty Lee smiled. “The beach did help us learn about ourselves.” she reached down, picking up a rock. “I feel all smoothed. I’ll always remember this!”

Azula smirked, standing up. “You know what would make this trip  _ really  _ memorable?”

When no one asked what she had in mind, she walked over to Yzako and gave her a little nudge, ignoring Kul’s warning snarl. “Come on. You’ll love this.”

The girl sighed, looking up at her. “What would make this trip memorable, Azula?”

“I think we should go back to the party.” the twinkle in her eye made Yzako curious enough to stand. 

Soon enough, they were all waiting at the door as Azula knocked on it. When it swung upon, Chan beheld a sight he wasn’t exactly prepared for. All five of his former guests were standing there, most of them looking angry, though he didn’t know why. The really concerning part, though, was the big gold dragon looming behind them, its lips pulled back in a snarl that looked more like a terrifying grin. 

“We’ve got some bad news, Chan.” Azula said. 

“Party’s over.” Zuko sneered. 

“Whoa, what are you--”

Azula shoved past him, pushing him into the wall as she led the group inside. She stood with a smug smirk on her face, watching as her compatriots did what they tended to do best: cause misery and destruction. 

Zuko walked along, knocking over every expensive vase and statue he could find before giving the buffet table a heavy kick that had it splintering in half. Partygoers screamed and ran, trying to dodge the knives Mai was throwing at priceless wall scrolls and tapestries. Up near the ceiling, Ty Lee was swinging from the chandeliers, sending each one crashing down after she let go of it. 

Chan looked on in horror, hardly believing his own eyes. “What are you doing?! My father’s going to kill me!”

“Your father, Admiral Chan?” Yzako asked, striding past him towards the kitchen. “The one who’s been placed on an extended leave due to his own ineptitude with the eastern fleet?”

“Y-Yes--wait, how do you know--”

“The Golden Dragon sits at the foot of the throne, Chan!” she called over her shoulder. 

“Oh, how  _ fascinating,” _ Azula said, bringing his attention back to her. “And how  _ embarrassing  _ for your family _. _ ”

“Hey, didn’t I tell you to get lost before?” he said haughtily. “I don’t need to deal with any of your freaky shit--”

“You need to learn some respect, Chan.” Azula frowned. “Bow.”

“Huh? Why would I—“

“ _ Bow before your princess, Chan.”  _

He stared at her. “My—my what?”

“Princess Azula of the Fire Nation,” Ty Lee said, jumping down from the rafters and landing next to Azula. “Daughter of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Conqueror of Ba Sing Se.” She turned towards Azula excitedly. “Did I get it right this time?”

The princess smirked, nodding. “You did. Good work, Ty Lee.”

Chan scoffed. “There’s no way you’re the princess.”

“No? And why is that?”

“Because if  _ you’re  _ the princess, that would mean he’s the—”

“The crown prince.” Zuko snarled, stepping up next to his sister. “Heir to the Fire Nation throne.”

Chan paled. “L-Look, I didn’t mean any harm—”

“Oh, shut up.” Mai rolled her eyes, coming to join the others. “You’re even more annoying than Zuko.”

“And a whole lot less cute,” Ty Lee huffed. 

“Yzako, are you quite finished in there?” Azula called. “I have a fun game for you to play.”

There was a crashing sound, followed by a “I’m coming!” Before Yzako appeared in the doorway again. Her arms were full of food and bottles of sorghum, a string of Komodo rhino sausage links trailing behind her as she hurried out into the main room. 

Zuko couldn’t help the laugh he let out. She looked absolutely ridiculous as she scurried over to the front doors, depositing all the food in the doorway before gathering up the liquor bottles and backing away. 

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Chan asked angrily. “That isn’t yours!”

“Well, Kul needs something to eat if he’s gonna be up all night.” Yzako said. 

“What are you—“

Chan was cut off by the sound of splintering wood as the dragon from outside suddenly came  _ inside.  _ It forced its way through the door frame, not even trying to squeeze in, too excited at the prospect of food to care about the damage it was doing to the house. Big jaws descended on the pile of meats and fruits Yzako had made, snapping them all up in just a few bites before a long tongue licked the dragon’s lips clean. When it was finished, it looked around, forcing the rest of its body into the room and barely noticing the way its own claws tore up the floor as it walked. 

Chan was angry and scared for his life, gulping as he tried not to show that he was trembling. “Look, just leave and I won’t mention your names to my father.”

Azula barked a laugh. “No, no. You’re going to tell the admiral  _ exactly  _ who did this to his home, and  _ why.” _

“You really think he’s going to go crying to the Fire Lord about it?” Zuko scoffed. “And you think the Fire Lord would take  _ your  _ side? You won’t even bow to royalty. Our father would wipe the floor with you.”

“Which brings me to my little game,” Azula said, clapping her hands together. “The rules are simple. You get down on your knees and bow, and nothing happens. You keep refusing, and, well...Yzako will show you why it's best that you behave.”

“That isn’t a fair game at all!” Chan protested.

“You keep wasting time.” Mai said. 

“It’ll just hurt more at this rate!” Ty Lee smiled. 

“What are you—”

“Come on, loser.” Yzako gave him a kick, taking out the backs of his knees. “We don’t have all night.”

He fell forward with a yelp, landing painfully. “What is  _ wrong  _ with you?!”

“What, I thought you liked me?” She pouted mockingly, putting her foot on his back and shoving him down until his nose hit the floor. “Am I too much to handle?”

Chan let out a pathetic sniffle, turning his head so that he could breathe. “I-I’m sorry, okay?”

Yzako looked up at Azula. “Well?”

The princess gazed down at Chan, her eyes bright. As she raised her hand, it lit up with her signature blue fire. “I dare say he’s nearly pissing himself. What do you say, everyone? Do we think  _ Chan _ here has had enough of a scare?”

“No.” Zuko huffed. 

“...Everyone  _ besides _ Zu Zu?”

“Who cares about this guy?” Mai shrugged and turned for the door. “The place is wrecked anyways.”

“Yeah, I wanna have some more of this sorghum,” Yzako said, digging her heel into Chan’s back. 

Azula sighed dramatically. “Alright, Chan. Have fun explaining this to your  _ father. _ ”

Yzako walked over him, making sure to step on his head as she went to join the others. She handed one of the bottles off to Ty Lee, who grabbed for it excitedly. As they all turned to leave, Kul forcing his way back through the doors again, Azula nonchalantly tossed a small fireball into the center of the room, waving over her shoulder as the broken buffet table went up in flames. 

“See?” she asked as they walked down the road. “Wasn’t that fun?”

“Yeah,” Zuko sighed, taking Yzakos free hand as she and Ty Lee were already cracking open their liquor bottles. “It really was.”

  
  


\---

  
  
  


At the palace, Min was lounging on her bed. She was alone in her shared quarters, the others all out in various guest rooms with admirals or ministers or whatever else. The Fire Lord seemed to have invited quite a few of his top men for his secret meetings, and they were keeping the girls busy. 

With Yzako gone for the weekend, they were all spending their time focusing on their work. The beds they found themselves in were far nicer than those in their old brothel in Ba Sing Se, but at least back then they knew they were being paid. Here, while they could get whatever their hearts desired thanks to Yzako, there was no guarantee that any of the war ministers or generals would toss any coins to them. They were working for...what? The ability to live in the palace, Min supposed. It felt funny, being made to work for the privilege of staying somewhere she didn’t even want to be, but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. The only way out of the Fire Nation capital would be in a body bag, and she wasn’t ready to die just yet. 

Besides, this whole spy thing was pretty fun. 

“Ugh!” Chun exclaimed as she and Fen walked in together, entering their cozy shared quarters and slamming the door. “I need a bath.”

“Me too. He reeked of smoke the entire time.” Fen wrinkled her nose, marching over to the stone wash basin in the corner. 

“Who was it?” Min asked boredly, rolling onto her belly to look at them better.

“That war minister.” Chun grumbled. “The Fire Lord called him in for his fancy meetings this weekend.”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t shut up about it.” Fen rolled her eyes. “I felt like he barely even wanted us there. He just needed an excuse to talk about himself.”

Min sat up. “Well? What’d he say?”

“Where to even  _ start?” _ Chun asked as she began stripping out of her robes. “ _ Blah blah blah, _ this and that about hot air balloons and secret bunkers. He’s obsessed with machines, by the way. It’s like, if he  _ loves _ them so much, why doesn’t just go and fu--”

“What about secret bunkers?” Min interrupted, trying to keep her focused. 

“He started talking about how we shouldn’t worry about the avatar invading on the Day of Black Sun.” Fen said as she washed her face. “The royal family will be safe in a bunker hidden in the volcano.”

“These people are all absolutely insane, if you ask me.” Chun snorted. “I mean, hiding in a  _ volcano? _ Who would _ do that?” _

“Firebenders.” Fen shrugged.

“Yeah, that checks out.” Min said. “Yzako will probably be glad to know about it when she gets back, though.”

“I feel like that isn’t even a secret,” Fen sighed. “For all the hours he spent talking at us, he didn’t actually  _ say  _ anything.”

“He definitely trusts us at this point, though. I’m sure next time he’ll have something  _ useful  _ to say.” Chun said optimistically. “I hope, at least. I don’t know if I can ever sit through another lecture about hot air balloons.”

“I’m sure your expertise will come in handy someday.” Min laughed. 

“Oh, I’m  _ sure.” _ Chun pulled a simple robe on and flopped down on her bed. “Nobody better ask for me for the rest of the day. I’ve hit my firebender limit.”

“I think I hit mine a _ long _ time ago.” Min said, shaking her head. 

A knock at the door made her look up and she sighed. What  _ now? _ She was honestly enjoying having a few hours off to do nothing but relax. When she got up to see who it was, though, she groaned. A guard was standing there, looking at her expectantly. 

“Who is it now?” she asked, leaning on the doorframe. “One of those generals?”

“No, ma’am.” the guard shook his head. “Your presence has been requested by Fire Lord Ozai.”

Min’s face fell in shock at the same time her stomach dropped. “Excuse me?”

“We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”

She looked back at Chun and Fen. The other girls looked just as horrified as she felt, their eyes wide as they glanced between her and the guard. This had to be a joke, right? Ozai didn’t care for bedmates. He had never shown the slightest  _ hint _ of interest in any of them, and they were all perfectly fine with that. 

“Min?” the guard asked, bringing her attention back to him. “Come on.”

“R-right,” she stammered, following him out into the corridor. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The biggest plot twist of 2020 is that I'm about to write Ozai smut


	70. The Fire Lord and The Whore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting so patiently while I desperately tried to figure out how to write this chapter! I wasn't expecting this to be so HARD (get it, because it's smut) so uh...here you go! I'm gonna try to update more quickly again, because I miss back when I was posting every other day (or even those glorious times when I was super on the ball and banging a chapter out daily). I'm hoping that finishing this chapter will help me get some more inspiration back!
> 
> warnings: kinda dubcon/forced, ozai is just selfish really but what else is new lmao. This isn't exactly happy smut but it IS a little hot imo so do what you will with that

“Ah, Min. So good of you to join me.”

Min didn’t know what she had expected to see when she was led to the Fire Lord’s bed chamber. Something huge and luxurious, she supposed, based on Zuko’s room. She had anticipated ornate decor, expensive furnishings, red and gold covering every inch of everything in sight…

And she wasn’t disappointed.

“Fire Lord.” She bowed, holding her hands together in her sleeves. Her fingers were woven tightly in an effort to keep them from shaking, her palms clammy. How could one man incite such terror in her? He was just a  _ man,  _ made of flesh and blood, with too much money and nobody to tell him  _ no. _ She had dealt with hundreds of men, if not thousands, many of them selfish and arrogant. This shouldn’t be so scary to her. She should be braver than this.

Except she wasn’t. How could she be, when she was staring at Fire Lord Ozai? He wasn’t just some  _ man,  _ he was the most powerful person in the world. He was imposing, even when he wasn’t wearing his usual armor, his posture perfect and his eyes bright and cruel as she straightened up again. 

What was she doing here? Why had he suddenly called for her? He had to be taking a break from his secret meetings and...what? Min’s first thought had of course been that Ozai wanted some company, but she was finding it hard to believe that the Fire Lord was that simple. This was the man who was responsible for thousands of deaths, who continued his father’s and grandfather’s work of conquering the world. He was ruthless and bloodthirsty, and he never seemed to show any interest in carnal pleasures. Or any other pleasures, for that matter.

“Yzako has been taking care of you well, I see.” Ozai said, moving towards her.

“The Golden Dragon has been very gracious.” Min kept her voice as even as possibly, straining to maintain a calm facade as the Fire Lord approached her. She wanted to run, to sprint the other way and find safety, but his predatory movements and the threatening glint in his eyes kept her feet still. 

“I am glad to hear that.” Ozai’s voice was far calmer than hers. The Fire Lord was at ease in his own chambers, as he should be. He was like a cat toying with his prey, circling Min and looking her up and down as if appraising her. “You’re tense.”

“A-Am I?” she asked, trying to sound confident. 

A smirk danced on Ozai’s lips as he reached for her. When his fingers brushed against her jaw, she flinched involuntarily, jerking her head away from his rough touch. It was a simple gesture, one often shared between lovers, but when the Fire Lord performed it, it was far from gentle. Everything he did was a warning, a dare, and Min wasn’t planning on trying to call any bluffs. She knew he was cruel and more than strong enough to kill her, and feeling his dangerous hands so near her throat had her nearly jumping out of her skin in fear.

His smirk faltered slightly, his hand moving to grab her jaw roughly. “You’re terrified. Of what, I wonder?”

Min didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. Her eyes betrayed her fear.

“Of me?” Ozai asked, tilting her head up and forcing her to look at him. “Of what I could do to you?”

When her eyes widened slightly, he chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I must seem intimidating to someone like you.”

If Min were less scared, she would have been angry at that. Someone like  _ her... _ Ozai was just as arrogant as he was dangerous. 

“You are correct to be so wary. You and I are very different people, Min.” Ozai’s hand slipped down to hold her throat. “But fear not; I have no intention of harming you tonight. You are safe with me.”

As Min’s heart hammered away in her chest, thoughts raced through her head. Was he being careful with her to try to sweeten her up and get her to let her guard down? Had he grown suspicious of the way she and the other girls were doing the exact same thing to get information out of his war council members and now he was determined to find out exactly how much she knew? Or was he simply being gentle with her because he was still trying to stay on Yzako’s good side?

Ozai was trying not to appear impatient or irritated with her. He forced himself not to grimace or narrow his eyes in annoyance when she continued hesitating so much, keeping that confident smirk on his lips as he let go of her throat to brush her hair off of her shoulder. 

“I must admit, I was...skeptical, when Yzako insisted that you stay in my palace.” he said, stepping behind Min. 

“Why is that, Fire Lord?” she asked bravely. 

“I have little patience for the  _ company  _ of others.” Ozai answered. “Such frivolity provides little more than a distraction.”

Min furrowed her brow. “Then why ask us to work in exchange for our stay?”

“Perhaps I was curious. As I am now.” his hand slid up the back of her neck in an almost gentle way before grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her head back to look up at him. “I am your master, and I wish to take what is mine.”

“Y-Yzako is--”

“ _ Yzako _ is not your master, nor is she Fire Lord.” he snapped. “She wears a collar the same as you do. She is in service to the Fire Nation, just as you are...your  _ services _ are simply different in nature.”

He let her go again and her head snapped back forward. “Fire Lord, what is it that you want from me?”

“Show me why I should continue letting you stay here.” Ozai stepped around her once more, walking towards his bed.

A chill ran up Min’s spine as her eyes followed him. So her initial thoughts had been right, after all; the Fire Lord wanted to indulge in the pleasures of another’s touch. Knowing she had no chance of surviving this encounter if she tried to deny him, she took a few steps forward, moving slower and slower the closer she came to him. He turned, looking at her expectantly, and she froze once more. 

“Remove my robes.” he said, almost boredly. 

Min’s eyes widened slightly, but she quickly nodded her head, closing the remaining distance between them. Her hands were shaky as she reached for him, and she half expected him to swat her away when her fingers brushed over the expensive silk he wore. No reprimands came, though, Ozai simply watching her she slowly undressed him. 

“You’re trembling.” he observed. 

She glanced up at him and tried to come up with something that would help mask her terror. “I’ve never touched royalty before, Fire Lord.” 

“And how does it feel?”

Min paused to collect herself. She had worked in brothels in Ba Sing Se her entire adult life, and if there was one thing she understood, it was men. She knew how to get what she wanted from them, how to convince them that her ideas were theirs, how to de-escalate fights...she had grown confident that she had figured out how to handle anything a man could throw at her. But now, standing so close to the most feared and hated person in the world, she suddenly wasn’t so sure. 

Taking a breath, she evaluated her situation. Ozai was confident, probably as a result of always getting whatever he wanted. He was also arrogant, probably thanks to the fact that he had so much power and control over his nation. He was  _ also  _ cruel, probably because he was so desensitized to violence and lacked any empathy for the thousands of lives he had already ended in his war. 

Min knew all of these things...but she didn’t know what to do with her information. With no time to come up with a plan, she realized she was going to have to go with her gut. She needed to get out of this alive and without arousing any type of suspicion, so maybe, just  _ maybe,  _ if she went above and beyond for him, she could impress him enough to land in his good graces. As much as she hated the idea of literally sucking up to the Fire Lord, it was her only option at that point.

“Like nothing else I’ve ever experienced, Fire Lord.” She finally answered.

“Hmph.” 

She stepped back as Ozai’s robes fell to the floor. His bare chest was broad and muscular, and she found herself too scared to let her eyes wander downwards. 

“On your knees.” 

Min looked up at him, staring at his face. This was really happening, wasn’t it?

_ “Now.” _

It was, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She dropped to her knees quickly, looking up at him with fearful eyes. 

Ozai loved it. 

“Good girl.” He purred, reaching for her head. 

He tore off the simple golden band that held her topknot in place roughly, making her wince at the sensation of her hair being yanked so suddenly. The accessory clattered to the floor as if Ozai had deemed it useless, rolling away into one of the dark corners of his chambers while the rest of her hair fell around her shoulders.

His fingers crept to hold the back of her head. “Show me what you’re best at.”

Min leaned forward wordlessly, finally forcing herself to look at his pelvis. He was already half hard, his pubic hair neatly trimmed, just as she would expect from someone like him. Other than the person it was attached to, though, there was nothing terrifying about his cock, and that was honestly comforting. She had almost expected to find something unnatural when she looked at it, but it was perfectly normal. 

With Ozai still gripping the back of her head, Min brought her hand up and wrapped her fingers around him, earning a hum of appreciation from the Fire Lord. She looked up at his face as she stroked him and saw that his eyes were closed, his head leaned back as if he was enjoying himself. So, he truly was just a man, and he  _ was  _ capable of feeling pleasure. 

With a newfound confidence, she leaned towards him, and before she could pause and think about what she was doing, she took his hardening cock into her mouth. How was she going to tell anyone that she had sucked off Fire Lord Ozai? She felt both ashamed and oddly proud, as if she had gone on a hunt and killed a legendary beast...except that she wasn’t as likely to win any sort of trophy from this. 

Her reward would be surviving, she supposed, and she couldn’t exactly argue with that. 

Ozai’s grip on her hair tightened when she took him in further, her throat warm and tight. He hadn’t felt anything like it in years, and the sensation made him groan in pleasure. It was a low sound, guttural and throaty, and if he were anyone else in the world, Min would have loved it. But  _ no,  _ he just  _ had  _ to be the tyrant trying to take over the world. 

Just her luck. There was finally a ridiculously rich man bedding her, and he was  _ Ozai.  _

“I can see why Yzako chose you as a prize.” He said, his voice wavering slightly. 

“Hmm?” Min hummed around him questioningly.

He let out a breathy groan at the feeling of her throat vibrating. “Your mouth is nearly divine. One can only wonder what the rest of you feels like.”

Suddenly, he pulled her head back, yanking her hair roughly. She stared up at him, a string of spit still connecting her lips to his hard cock. She half expected him to face fuck her as roughly as he could, but instead, he dragged her to her feet and gave her a rough shove towards the bed. 

“Undress. Now.” he growled. 

Min nodded quickly, her hands shaking again as she tried to hurry. Her robe fell from her shoulders, crumpling on the floor unceremoniously. The moment her skin was bare, Ozai gave her another push, keeping his hand between her shoulder blades as he pressed her down against the silk sheets. 

His other hand moved to brush between her thighs, her breath hitching involuntarily at his touch. She just needed to survive this, she reminded herself. Make a good impression on the Fire Lord and not be burned to a crisp, no matter how unnaturally warm his skin grew. The other firebenders she had fucked while in the palace weren’t nearly as scorching as he was, and she imagined that Yzako and Zuko were the same way. It was terrifying, like stepping into an uncomfortably hot bath that left her skin red and steaming. 

If she made it out of this alive, she was never getting naked near one of these people again if she could help it.

When he sank into her, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. He didn’t waste any time making sure she was ready for him, instead pushing against her ruthlessly, paying little attention to the noises of discomfort she was making. He didn’t care; after all, this was just an Earth Kingdom whore, and as long as he left her in one piece and relatively emotionally sound, Yzako wouldn’t have any reason to react with anger. 

Not that he was scared of her, of course. That was impossible.

Min gripped at the sheets, clenching her teeth together as Ozai pounded at her mercilessly. The initial pain of him shoving his cock into her had subsided, but it still wasn’t exactly  _ comfortable _ as his warm hands held her down. He didn’t speak, the silence only broken by his low, guttural groans. Maybe, if he had been a little  _ kinder _ in general, and also wasn’t the leader of an imperialistic,  _ insane _ country, Min would have enjoyed all the sounds he was making. After all, he was attractive and very,  _ very _ rich, and in any other situation, she would have been the envy of every brothel girl in the entire world. 

But  _ no. _ He just had to be  _ Ozai. _

Why couldn’t she have just waited a few years to get herself stuck in the palace so that she could be summoned to Fire Lord  _ Zuko’s _ chambers instead?

Ozai’s hands suddenly moved to her waist and he pulled out of her, ripping her away from her thoughts. He threw her onto her back and crawled between her legs once more, his fingers closing around her wrists and pinning her down. At least this time it didn’t hurt when he rutted against her, his hips snapping forward over and over, his cock thrusting in and out of her easily. His movements were smooth and practiced, despite his claims that he had no time for lovers, and Min found herself wishing he were someone else so that she could have a chance to enjoy herself. 

The Fire Lord buried his head against her neck, and it was only a moment later that she felt the sting of his teeth grabbing her flesh. She let out a small whimper, bringing her legs up to hook around his waist in an attempt to focus on something other than the pain. The shift in her hips only made him push into her deeper, forcing a low moan from her throat as his cock dragged against all of her favorite spots. 

He eventually let her wrists go, supporting himself with one hand while the other grabbed at her tits roughly. Everything about him was violent, even his fucking...though not necessarily in a  _ bad _ way. He was selfish, of course, only interested in using her to please himself, but he had yet to hurt her. His touch was harsh and unforgiving, angry, red fingerprints lingering on her skin when he let go of one breast to knead the other, but Min knew that there was far,  _ far _ worse he could do to her with those dangerous hands. 

“ _ Do not mark my skin _ .” he growled when her nails found their way to his back. 

Min froze in horror as she was reminded  _ yet again _ exactly who was fucking her. “O-of course, Fire Lord.”

He grunted in acknowledgment, finally withdrawing from her neck. He leaned back on his knees, holding her hips still as he finally,  _ finally, _ spent himself inside of her, tossing his head back with a low groan as he did so. He stayed still for a moment, his chest heaving while he caught his breath, those harsh fingers digging into her skin and giving her no chance of escaping. 

When he said nothing, Min spoke up. “Was that...satisfactory?”

Ozai brought his head forward again, opening his eyes to look down at her. “It was. It has been... _ years, _ I suppose, since I’ve allowed myself to indulge in such useless frivolities.”

“May I ask why, Fire Lord?” she asked as he pulled out of her and left the bed. 

He laughed loudly, something that she wasn’t expecting. “Concubines are  _ distracting.  _ I’ve had no time for them, so I banished them all to the colonies.”

“Surely even the Fire Lord needs release sometimes, though.” she said bravely, encouraged by his almost casual tone and trying not to think of where all those old palace concubines went.

He paused as he reached for a pitcher of water on a nearby table. “I suppose.”

“Are you allowing yourself a reward after winning Ba Sing Se?”

“Do not think yourself so privy to my thoughts,” he snapped, looking back at her dangerously. 

Min shrank back against the pillows. She had nearly begun thinking he was a normal man, and that she could talk circles around him like all the rest of them. “My apologies, Fire Lord.”

He raised the pitcher to his lips, drinking greedily before setting it down again. “Perhaps you’ve earned some curiosity, Min.”

“Huh?”

“I will answer one question. Think of it as an act of  _ good will _ .”

She stared at him. One question? She had a hundred questions. She had questions that would benefit Yzako, and she had questions that she wanted answered for her own selfish reasons. She wanted to know everything about this awful human being, so that she could understand why he was so unforgiving and uncaring when it came to all the lives he had ended. She wanted to know why he was so cruel. She wanted to know why he would permanently scar his own son. She wanted to know why he was so hellbent on ruling the world. She wanted to know how to stop him from doing so, but she knew that would likely result in her own death. 

How could she choose only one? And how could she find a way to ask him about something that wouldn’t seem too suspicious? This was an opportunity she never thought she could possibly have, and she wasn’t about to waste it...but she couldn’t put everything else in jeopardy, either. 

After a few minutes of silence, she finally opened her mouth. 

“Why didn’t you ever take another queen after your wife died?”

Ozai was standing with perfect posture, his arms at his sides. When he heard her question, he scoffed. He had been growing suspicious that she was trying to get information out of his advisors and generals whenever she fucked them, but no; she was just a silly, stupid Earth Kingdom girl, like all the rest of them. Min was evidently more concerned with the social aspects of palace life, just as he would expect from a  _ concubine. _ It seemed he had far less to worry about than he had thought, and he internally chastised himself for growing paranoid enough to assume these girls from Ba Sing Se had any interest in trying to meddle with his affairs.

And  _ of course _ she thought his wife was dead, just like everyone else did.

“Ah.  _ Ursa.” _ he sneered. “A silly woman from a silly village. I never took another wife because I had no interest in doing so.”

“Women clearly tempt you.” Min said, gesturing to herself. “You could have your pick of any bride.”

“I married Ursa because the fire sages foretold that the union between the grandson of Fire Lord Sozin and the granddaughter of Avatar Roku would result in a powerful child.” he snorted as he reached for the water pitcher once more. “It was a marriage with the single purpose of creating an heir. I suppose it was successful.”

Min’s mind was racing as she tried to absorb as much information as she could. He had already said far more than she expected, and now it was time for her to play dumb and keep him talking for as long as possible without arousing suspicion. “Yes, Prince Zuko is--”

“ _ Zuko.” _ he scoffed. “Yes, he has  _ finally _ begun to prove himself as of late, hasn’t he? He was always weaker than his sister, but perhaps he was simply a  _ late bloomer. _ ”

“He did help conquer an unconquerable city,” Min pointed out. 

“Prince Zuko has earned his title back, yes. He overcame his uncle’s treacherous teachings and even defeated the avatar as a result.” Ozai placed the water pitcher down again, his movements careful. “His success has only come as a result of Yzako’s involvement in his life, however.”

Min frowned slightly. “She’s an incredible person, truly.”

“She is powerful and ruthless, when correctly handled. And far more deserving of glory than  _ either  _ of my  _ whelps. _ ” he turned back towards the bed. “You will remain here for the night. I may have use for you again. You will be gone before dawn, however; I do not wish to look upon you when I wake.”

With little other choice, Min nodded quickly. “Yes, Fire Lord. Of course.”

As Ozai settled in next to her and she was shoved to the side, Min stared up into the dark. She wished that she could run to Yzako’s room and tell her everything before asking for a cup of tea and then finally crying all of her terror out of herself, but  _ no. _ Ozai had sent her off on a  _ vacation. _ She would simply have to wait for her friend to return to the palace and then tell her that Ozai was  _ definitely _ planning something for her, and that he was  _ definitely _ not as pleased with either of his children as he appeared to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ozai is such an arrogant dick that he assumes the girls are too dumb to be doing anything behind his back, which feels very in character to me lmao. Let me know what you thought! It was both fun and challenging to find a way to make this chapter work! This one was kind of short, I'm sorry, but I just really needed to get this out of the way lol


	71. Becoming A Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been rewatching book III again because of course I have and EEEEEE I have some good ideas coming up

_ “Ugh, _ it’s so good to be back,” Yzako said sarcastically as she and Zuko entered their room. They had arrived from Ember Island late that evening, walking through the palace doors after the sun had already set. Kul was snoozing after a long weekend of napping on the sunny beach, his spirit curled up around Yzako’s while she took the boat back with the others. After the party fiasco, the rest of their vacation had been perfectly average, with no complications from any asshole rich kids. 

“Yeah.” Zuko sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He was tired, and had spent the entire trip home thinking about how nice it was going to be to sleep in his own room next to Yzako again. She and Kul had done as Ozai told them and stayed in the royal family’s old beach house, leaving Zuko to endure Lo and Li’s old lady snores the past few nights. 

Yzako stepped up between his legs, leaning her arms on his shoulders. She had a little smirk on her face, her fingers toying with the little hairs on the back of his head that were too short to be pulled into his topknot. “Too tired to have a little fun before bedtime?”

Zuko grinned, his hands finding her hips as he pulled her in closer. “I thought you’d never ask.”

She bit her lip in that cute way that drove him absolutely wild, and he was about to tear her clothes off when a knock at the door interrupted him. 

“ _ What?”  _ he growled, pulling her into his lap anyway. 

“I need to talk to Yzako.” 

Zuko rolled his eyes at the sound of Min’s voice. “It can wait til morning.”

The door creaked open. “No, it can’t.”

Yzako turned to look, and what she saw made her pull away from Zuko. “What’s wrong?”

Min was creeping into the room, hugging herself, her eyes on the floor. It was extremely out of character for someone who always acted so confident, even while living in the palace of the people who had destroyed her home. Even Zuko was put off by it. 

“I need to talk to you.” she said again. “Alone.”

Yzako made eye contact with her, and at the serious look she was met with, she nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course. Whatever you need.”

“Hey, wait a second!” Zuko grabbed her wrist, stopping her. “We just got back--”

“Zuko,” Yzako said, putting her free hand on his cheek. “I’ll be back before you know it. I need to help my friend with...whatever it is that’s bothering her. Okay?”

He sighed in defeat, letting her go again. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

She smiled apologetically before kissing him. “Thank you, love.”

His heart melted slightly at the pet name. Dammit, did she know exactly how to play him. “Be careful.”

“Always am.” she rushed in the direction of the door, following Min back out into the hall and closing it behind her. “Should we go to the gardens?”

“Wherever we’ll have privacy.” Min said in a hushed voice. 

They walked quickly, Yzako glancing over at her friend occasionally. She was uncomfortable and terrified, glancing around corners and down halls whenever they passed them. What had happened over the weekend? Yzako had asked her to take care of things and find out whatever she could about the Fire Lord’s secret meetings, but the last thing she had expected was for Min to be acting this way. What exactly had she found out? 

She was beginning to grow anxious. What if something was wrong? She wanted to find the others and make sure they were safe, but she was determined to hear whatever Min had to say before she went running off on her own. She had no idea what was coming, and she needed to heed Iroh’s advice and actually think things through before she acted...though she wasn’t exactly enjoying her current thought process. A million suspicions were racing through her head, and none of them were pretty. 

When they finally reached the center of the gardens, Min let out a heavy sigh and fell to her knees by the turtleduck pond. Yzako sank down next to her, relieved to find that the gardens were just as abandoned as they usually were at such a late hour. 

“Well?” she asked impatiently. “What happened?”

“Where’s Kul?” Min asked. 

“Sleeping. Why?”

“I would feel better if he was here.”

Yzako frowned. Something was  _ definitely _ freaking her out. “I don’t really know how to wake him up, he just kind of does it on his own--”

She was cut off by a low growl, Kul rousing from his nap and materializing around them. He shook himself, looking down at them with a grumpy expression before plopping down in the grass, the vibration from his weight waking a family of turtleducks and sending them into the water. They quacked angrily, swimming in circles as they looked up at the massive glowing dragon encircling their pond, the mother even going so far as to nip at one of Kul’s toes. 

“Okay, he’s here. Better?” Yzako asked. 

“Yeah.” Min sighed, looking down at her hands. “Sorry. I just...feel better with a giant dragon around. Some really weird things happened while you were gone.”

“Like what?”

“Things were normal, and we were staying pretty busy.” she swallowed hard as she remembered her weekend. “The ministers and generals were just bragging about the invasion plans everyone already knows about, and new war balloons, and secret bunkers. Nothing too exciting.”

“Then what’s got you so upset?” Yzako asked. 

“The...uh…” Min’s voice wavered and she paused to take a breath. “Ozai called for me.”

Yzako’s eyes widened. “He  _ what? _ Like...to his chambers?”

She nodded quickly, and then everything came tumbling out all at once. “I didn’t think he ever would. I was perfectly  _ fine _ with the concept of never going to bed with him. B-but then he summoned me, and I didn’t exactly have any  _ choice, _ did I? So I went with the guard and he took me right to the Fire Lord’s bedchamber, a-and it was so...so...I don’t  _ know.” _

“Hey, slow down,” Yzako said gently, putting a hand on Min’s back. Her friend immediately leaned against her, and though she was taller than Yzako, she suddenly seemed so small. “What happened?”

“He...you know.” 

Min was never shy about her profession. Back in Ba Sing Se, she was always sharing stories with the other girls, detailing her experiences with different clients. For her to be avoiding the actual topic at hand now was more than concerning, and Yzako had to give her a nudge for her to continue. 

“He took me to bed.” she said. “He said he was  _ curious _ about me.” she shook her head slightly. “That part was just sort of unpleasant.”

Yzako wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

“Afterwards, he let me ask him a question. So I was careful. I’m pretty sure he was suspicious of me at first, at least a little, and it was his way of trying to decide if he needed to worry about me.” she cleared her throat quietly, trying to get past the lump that was forming in it. “So I played dumb, and I asked him about his wife.”

Yzako pulled back slightly in surprise. “You call that playing dumb?”

“Well, it worked.”

“So what did he say?”

She sucked in a breath. “He married Ursa because the sages told him to. She was the granddaughter of Avatar Roku.”

Well, now Yzako was truly surprised. “Well...that’s certainly not what I expected.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Min agreed. “They had an arranged marriage because the fire sages foretold that they would produce a powerful heir.”

“Of course they did.” Yzako grumbled. 

“I tried to find out more, but then he started talking about Zuko.” Min continued. “And...you, a little bit.”

A chill ran up Yzako’s spine. “Well?”

“He’s disappointed. In both Zuko and Azula. He didn’t say anything specific, but he called them both undeserving whelps.” 

“Even Azula?” Yzako asked. “But she was always ahead of Zuko when it came to their firebending training. She clearly has their father’s favor.”

“Ozai said that you were more deserving of glory than either of his children.” Min said. “He didn’t say  _ much, _ but the meaning behind his words was...scary. He said that when handled correctly, you’re powerful and ruthless. It gave me the impression that he might be focusing everything on you now, not Zuko or Azula. I don’t know what that means for his plans or where you fall in them. And...you told me to find out why he sent you away this weekend. I think it could have had something to do with me.”

“With you?” 

Min nodded. “I think he wanted to be able to invite me to his chambers and decide for himself if I was suspicious. What better time to do that than when the one thing he’s afraid of is gone on an island vacation?”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “He wanted to get rid of me so that he could threaten you? Typical.”

“Except he didn’t threaten me. Not really.” Min’s face dropped even further. “Though...there is one more thing.”

“Well what is it?” 

“That was just the first night you were gone.” Min said. “Later in the weekend, Zhang heard from an admiral that the Fire Lord has  _ big plans _ for his  _ pet.” _

Now it was Yzako’s turn to grow shaky and uncomfortable.

“Fuck,” she whispered under her breath. 

“What?” Min asked, sitting back on her heels again. 

“Fuck.” Yzako said again, standing up to give herself something to do before she was reduced to nothing but a quivering mess. “The comet.”

“What comet?”

“The-- _ the _ comet!” Yzako turned to look down at her friend. “When we first came back to the palace, Ozai was talking about how strong I am. About how pleased he was that Kul and I could burn Ba Sing Se.”

“Well, yeah. He’s kind of a warlord.”

“Sozin’s Comet is coming at the end of the summer.” Yzako said. “It’s going to increase the strength of our firebending while it passes.”

“Okay, so you’re going to be even more powerful than usual.”

“Possibly very,  _ very _ powerful.”

“I’m not following. Why are you scared of this? Won’t that be a good thing?” Min asked. 

“The last time the comet passed, Fire Lord Sozin harnessed its power to wipe out the Air Nomads and start the war.”

Min’s eyes widened. “Oh. Well. That is...some serious firepower.”

“Ozai has to be planning something huge.” Yzako began pacing, her feet needing to move. “He’s going to try to end the war when the comet comes.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.” she walked over to Kul’s head, putting a hand on his cheek to steady herself. “But what I  _ do _ know is that he’s going to try to make us burn the world.”

Min watched her. “So when the time comes, don’t do it.”

“That’s the problem.” Yzako turned to look back at her. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to stop myself.”

  
  


\---

  
  


Back in his room, Zuko had dozed off. When it became apparent that Yzako wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon, he had changed into something more comfortable to sleep in and gotten into bed. All he wanted was to have a nice night with his girlfriend, but  _ no. _ She was off fixing whatever Min was upset about. They were probably talking about weird girl things, and it probably wasn’t even anything urgent. 

Still...Min had looked pretty freaked out, and Zuko hoped she was okay. He knew Yzako had probably been anxious about leaving her and the others in the palace while they were gone, and that was part of why she had rushed off so quickly. He just wished they had picked a better time to catch up. 

He slipped in and out of dreams, barely staying asleep while he waited for Yzako to come back. He would feel better when he knew she was there next to him instead of running around in the middle of the night. There was nothing she couldn’t handle, and Zuko knew that better than anyone, but he still didn’t like the idea of her traipsing around in the dark. No matter how secure the palace was, there was always a chance of something or some _ one _ happening. 

At the sound of footsteps, he jolted awake. His room was still dark, but he had definitely heard something just on the other side of his door, and it didn’t seem like Yzako returning. Zuko jumped to his feet, running to the door as quickly and silently as possible before wrenching it open. 

He saw the blurry shape of a figure disappearing around the corner at the end of the hall, but they were too far away for him to identify. As he took a step forward, intending to follow after this would-be intruder, the sound of something clattering to the floor at his side caught his attention and he paused.

It was a scroll, a simple-looking one tied shut with a piece of black string. Zuko bent down to pick it up, unrolling it and gripping the wooden rods at its ends tightly. It wasn’t as ornate as any of the ones used in the palace, so this clearly wasn’t any kind of official business. As he squinted at the characters written on it, Zuko began to see why.

_ “You need to know the story of your great-grandfather’s demise. It will reveal your own destiny.” _

  
  


The prince crumpled it back up, glaring down the corridor. It was empty, with no sign of any mysterious messengers and no sign of Yzako. 

With a frustrated sigh, he returned to his room. He already knew about his great-grandfather.  _ Everyone  _ knew about his great-grandfather. The tale of Fire Lord Sozin was common knowledge, and it was taught in even the shittiest colony schools. He had grown up in the palace, took the throne, got married, committed genocide...all normal,  _ typical  _ Fire Lord things. As far as Zuko could recall, Sozin had spent his elderly years waging the beginning of the war they were all currently in. There wasn’t anything secret or interesting about his death.

Tossing the stupid scroll into the drawer in his bedside table, he flipped down onto his sheets. He supposed it was possible that it could refer to his maternal great-grandfather, but he didn’t even know who that would be. As far as he and Azula had ever been told, their mother came from some little village nobody cared about, and that was that. There was nothing special or exciting about her lineage; if there was, wouldn’t they have been taught about it? 

Yzako eventually slipped back into the room, wordlessly getting into bed next to Zuko. As he rolled over and wrapped an arm around her, she sighed, wiggling back against him and getting herself comfy while he pressed a few tired kisses against her shoulders. He could tell that something was bothering her, just like she knew his mind was troubled, too, but neither of them were willing to bring their problems up. Instead, they fell asleep in silence, wrapped up in each other, in the one place they both felt safe.

In the morning, Ozai summoned Yzako, as usual. Vacation was truly over, it seemed, and it was time for her to get back to work, if it could even be called that. Jin came in to help her dress, and before long, both Yzako and Kul were on their way to the Fire Lord’s throne room, leaving Zuko behind to figure out what to do with his day. 

Being crown prince was turning out to be surprisingly boring for him. With no meetings to attend and no one calling for his presence, he wandered the palace, thoughts of the odd message he had received the night before plaguing his mind. Who could possibly have sent it? He didn’t exactly have very many friends...but he did have one stubborn, imprisoned uncle. 

Could it have been from Iroh? No, that was impossible. The prison tower he was stuck in was heavily fortified, his cell almost always watched by a rotation of guards who all thought he was an idiot and a traitor. No one would be willing to help him send that message, or else they would be considered an enemy of the Fire Nation, too. 

But if Iroh didn’t send it, who did?

Zuko had no idea, and that frustrated him more than anything. 

As his feet brought him to stand before the massive, imposing portraits of all the past Fire Lords, he came to a stop. He looked up at Sozin, an impressive, terrifying man whom he had never gotten the chance to meet. All of the Fire Lords stood in similar poses on their banners, but Zuko’s great-grandfather held an open scroll in his hand, a comet arching over his head while Fire Nation soldiers marched beneath his feet. Amongst all the Fire Lords pictured, he was perhaps the most accomplished, having wiped out the Air Nomads and started the Hundred Year War that his descendants were still trying to finish. 

“It’s never too early to sit for the court painter, you know.” Azula’s voice rang out in the large corridor as she approached her brother. “Make sure they get your  _ good side.” _

Zuko sneered at her for a moment. “I need to ask you something. What do you remember about our great-grandfather’s history?”

“Oh, Zuko.” Azula sighed. “It’s so strange how your mind works. Fire Lord Sozin began the war, of course. He spent his early years secretly preparing for it, but he was as patient as he was clever. He famously waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin’s Comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world. In the end, he died a very old and successful man.”

“But  _ how  _ did he die?” Zuko asked. 

“Didn’t you pay  _ any  _ attention in your classes, Zuko?” Azula scoffed. “He died peacefully, in his sleep. He was ancient.”

With that, she stalked off, having had enough of her annoying older brother for the day. She left him standing there, staring up at their great-grandfather’s portrait as if it held some kind of secret, and for all either of them knew, maybe it did. 

  
  


—

  
  
  


“Ah, Yzako. I trust you enjoyed your weekend on Ember Island?”

“Yes, Fire Lord.” Yzako bowed, Kul lowering his head behind her. “It was lovely. I look forward to another trip.”

“Good, good.” Ozai said. “There will be plenty of opportunities to return in the future, once the war is won.”

As Yzako straightened up again and looked at him, she found that the flames surrounding his throne were lower than usual, an almost pleasant expression on his face. He seemed relaxed, though it was only noticeable to someone who wasn’t quaking before him. Yzako was able to analyze his posture and facial features to a degree that many other people in the palace couldn’t, and today, what she found was an unusually happy looking Fire Lord.

Unfortunately, she could guess why. 

“You seem in high spirits today.” She commented. “I hope your weekend also went well.”

He smiled, that familiar, cruel little glint in his eyes. “Oh, it did indeed.”

When he didn’t elaborate any further, Yzako decided to push the subject. “What could put the great Fire Lord Ozai in such a good mood, I wonder?”

“I sampled one of your Ba Sing Se bed warmers.” He said bluntly. “ _ Curiosity  _ got the best of me. Perhaps there is something to be said for a bit of indulgence here and there, even in war times.”

Yzako resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m glad you liked her so much. Who did you choose?”

“That assertive one. Whatever her name is.” He waved his hand dismissively. “It is of little importance, anyways. We have much to discuss.”

“Like what, Fire Lord?” There was an uneasy feeling growing in her stomach as she folded her hands in her sleeves and looked up at him. 

“Your future, and the future of the Fire Nation, of course.” He rose from his throne, stepping down from it to stand before her. “These two futures are intertwined, as I’m sure you well know. When the Fire Nation flourishes, as do you. Should the Fire Nation fall…”

Yzako swallowed hard. “So will I.”

“Very good.” he reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You will be instrumental in winning this war, Golden Dragon. It is paramount that you remain safe and continue training so that when the time comes, my plans will be executed perfectly. This means limiting  _ distractions _ and focusing on the task at hand. Understood?”

She sighed. “Yes, Fire Lord.”

“The Day of Black Sun is approaching quickly, and when it comes, you will be on guard in our bunker. There will be a brief window in which our firebending will be rendered useless, and it is within that window that the resistance forces will invade. They would be  _ fools _ not to try to take advantage of such an event.”

“Why do you want me guarding the bunker if we’ll all be powerless? You just said you wanted me to stay safe.”

“While your firebending will disappear for several minutes, you will still have Kul at your side. The sight of him alone will be more than enough to deter our enemies, should they even reach the volcano.” Ozai withdrew his hand, turning his back to Yzako as he returned to his throne. “The city’s defenses will all be engaged, of course. I doubt they will even make it into the harbor, but it would be... _ unwise _ to underestimate our foes.”

“Of course, Fire Lord.” Yzako bowed her head.

“We have some time yet to prepare. I have scheduled an all-day war meeting in which we will discuss the details.” he sat down once more, kneeling comfortably on his throne. “There is another matter I wish to discuss with you in the meantime.”

She felt discomfort rising in her gut. “Yes?”

“As I mentioned, you are an integral part of my plans for victory. It is through you that the Fire Nation will win this war, and we will crush any and all opposition beneath us. We will be free to spread the glory of fire with the world, and my grandfather’s vision will finally be realized.” Ozai smiled, flames dancing in his eyes. “However...I am not my grandfather, and I hunger for  _ more.  _ It isn’t enough to simply acquire land and strengthen the Fire Nation, not anymore. We are living in the midst of unprecedented growth and prosperity, and once the world is truly ours, I will no longer be Fire Lord.”

Yzako frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I will create a new title for myself, under which I will rule everything from the North Pole to the South Pole, from this palace to the eastern edge of what was once the Earth Kingdom.” His grin widened dangerously. “And you, Yzako, you who burned Ba Sing Se to the ground...you will reign as my right hand, with far more glory and power and  _ freedom  _ than you will know what to do with.”

Her eyes widened. Freedom...that was a word she hadn’t heard in a long time. “What about the prince and princess?”

“Zuko will inherit the title of Fire Lord as a reward for killing the avatar and rule over the Fire Nation homelands, serving under me.” He shrugged, as if he could care less about the subject. “You will be free to marry him, should you choose...but only after the war is won. Before that, there will be no distractions, no ceremonies, and no  _ children.” _

He sneered the last word, glaring down at Yzako. 

“I trust you can keep your hands to yourself, of course.”

She wanted to retort, to respond with some kind of snappy remark about how he couldn’t seem to keep  _ his  _ hands off of Min, but she bit her tongue and nodded instead. “My duty is to the Fire Nation first, _ of course _ .”

“Good. Now sit. War Minister Ching has requested an audience. He would like to present new war machine plans to us.”

Yzako stifled a sigh, taking a seat on her little throne as Kul lumbered forward to curl up around Ozai’s platform. Did anyone else know about his plans to rise above the title of Fire Lord? He seemed to want all the glory for himself, leaving little for his heirs. Did Azula, who always vied for her father's favor, have any clue that she was to receive practically nothing for all of her hard work? The thought would have delighted Yzako if she weren’t so concerned about what the comet would be bringing. 

As the war minister entered the throne room, Yzako’s mind wandered. She needed to consult Iroh, and she needed to do it  _ soon.  _


	72. The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a quick update because I feel like I've been slacking so much lately! Sometimes I get so stuck with filler chapters, and even though I know they're important so that the story can progress, I get so bored with them and then they get hard to write XD I got the ball rolling again though!

“I can’t take this anymore!” Yzako snarled, her ghostly form pacing back and forth. “I’m sick and tired of being a Fire Nation weapon! Why can’t I just be a  _ normal  _ girl with  _ normal  _ problems? Other people don’t have to worry what stupid crazy plan their future father in law is coming up with. Other people just get to worry about things like what to have for breakfast!”

Iroh watched as she marched across his cell, sipping tea that his favorite guard had left him. Yzako was angry, having appeared only minutes before and explaining everything that had transpired over the weekend. He was glad to know that she and Zuko were both alright after receiving no visits from either of them for the past few days, but learning of Ozai’s intentions for Yzako were troubling, and Iroh feared that the Fire Lord had only revealed a fraction of his plans so far.

“It is a great burden that you bear,” the old man agreed, placing his tea down. “But it is your duty to the world to do what you can to stop the Fire Lord.”

“How?” Yzako asked angrily. “I’m trapped. You’re in prison, Zuko is desperately relying on an assassin to take care of the avatar before Ozai finds out he’s still alive, and the comet is getting closer and closer. Even if I wanted to do something, I can’t take on the entire Fire Nation military alone.”

“You are not alone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right, fine. But Kul can’t do it, either. If he could, he wouldn’t have been killed by Azulon in the first place.”

“I have watched you grow from an angry, spiteful young woman whose only motivation was rage directed at those who have wronged you, into a strong, valiant firebender.” Iroh closed his eyes. “When we met at the shipyard, you were frightened of what Ozai would do to you. Now, I sense that your fear has changed.”

Yzako paused. “What do you mean?”

“You are no longer afraid for your own life.” He opened his eyes again, looking up at her. “You fear losing the people you love.”

She frowned. “Get out of my head, Uncle. This isn’t the time for analyzing my character.”

“Very soon, there will come a time when you must choose your path.” Iroh said. “The Fire Lord promises you glory and freedom...but is that freedom worth the world?”

“Freedom is all I’ve ever wanted.” Yzako said stubbornly. “That’s what got me into this whole huge mess in the first place.”

“There is a time and a place for everything. Your freedom will come—but I urge you to think on what you are going to do when you find yourself starting your destiny in the eye.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She snapped. “Don’t be so cryptic! Can’t you tell I’m stressed?”

He chuckled, earning himself a sharp glare. “Yes, I can.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” She flopped down on the floor. “Ozai wants to use me to set the entire world on fire. What do I do if…” she trailed off, swallowing hard. “What if I actually do it?”

It was Iroh’s turn to frown. “You will not.”

“But what if I  _ do?”  _ She asked, eyes pleading for an answer. “Part of me loved burning Ba Sing Se. I’m...I’m afraid of myself and what I’m capable of. When the comet comes, what’s going to happen to me?”

“With great power comes great—“

“This isn’t the time for metaphors or sayings or  _ whatever!”  _ Yzako jumped to her feet. “This is serious! How am I supposed to protect the Fire Nation when they’re the very people trying to destroy the world?”

Uncle Iroh sighed, exhaling some steam from his nose as he slowly closed his eyes. “When the time comes, you will know what to do.”

“But I never know what to do! I didn’t ask for any of this, I didn’t ask to suddenly become the most powerful weapon in the Fire Nation!” Hot tears were pricking at the edges of her eyes, threatening to spill over. “I want to go back to Ba Sing Se. I want to sit in the tea shop again and go dress shopping and buy stupid little knick knacks at pawn shops in the lower ring. And before you say anything, yes, I  _ know  _ I’m half the reason that I can’t do any of that anymore.”

“Yzako,” Iroh said gently. “Take a moment to relax. We are living in strange and dire times, and we must stay vigilant and aware of what is going on around us so that we do not find ourselves caught off guard.”

“So what do I do?” she sighed. “I can’t even talk to Zuko about any of this because I don’t want to put him in danger, and the less people who know about all the sneaking around I’ve been doing, the better.”

“Train.” Iroh said with a nod. “Stay on your toes. Be ready for anything.”

“Right.” she sniffed back her tears. His confident tone was helping her mood slightly. 

“I know that you can do it.” there was a serious expression on Iroh’s face as his eyes met hers. “You will be prepared for whatever happens. For now, you must remain calm so as not to arouse suspicion.”

“Right.” she repeated herself, taking a shaky breath and nodding. “Right. Thank you, Uncle.”

He smiled warmly. “I believe that you are a good person, Yzako. Life has tested you many times, and when your destiny reveals itself, you will know what the right choice is. Until then, you must grow even stronger, both mentally and physically, so that you are ready to do what is necessary.”

“How will I know what that is, though?” she asked. “I don’t even trust myself. I’m becoming a monster, Uncle. The stakes are too high. What if I make the wrong choice and I ruin everything?”

“Not all monsters are evil.” he winked. “I have faith in you, as I do in Prince Zuko. Protect and guide him back to his path, and do the same for the Fire Nation. As Golden Dragon, this is what you must do.”

“Golden Dragon. Pfft.” she snorted. “Big deal. The only thing being the Golden Dragon has gotten me is massages and hot baths whenever I want.”

“Hm.” he sat back, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “Perhaps you should speak with Bailong once again.”

“The white dragon? I haven’t seen him since…” she cleared her throat, preferring not to bring up her near death experience at the hands of the man before her. “It’s been a while. I haven’t really been thinking about him much.”

“He will guide you. Bailong is ancient and wise, and he has lifetimes of knowledge to pass down.” Iroh nodded with a smile. “Now, go. We do not want to attract any unwanted attention by speaking for too long.”

“Right.” she smiled, finally feeling relieved. “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll let you know if anything else happens.”

Iroh bowed his head. “Be safe.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He watched as she faded away, leaving him alone in his prison cell once more. With a sigh, he climbed to his feet, stretching a bit before beginning his nightly workout routine. He hadn’t been so physically active since his days in the army, but his strength was returning to him more and more each day as he continued preparing himself for the Day of Black Sun. Yzako’s news had confirmed his suspicion that Ozai was planning to use her as a defense against the invasion, but it seemed that the Fire Lord had much more than just that in mind for his pet dragon. It was a good thing that he trusted her so much now, but the closer she got to him, the more danger she was in. 

As Iroh jumped to grab the bars at the top of his cell, his thoughts moved on to his nephew. It had been confirmed by the White Lotus messenger that Zuko had received Iroh’s message about his great-grandfather, and now all he could do was hope that the knowledge of his connection to Avatar Roku would help the prince see how his destiny lied far, far away from serving at his father’s side. If Zuko was smart, he would be on his way to the fire sages’ catacombs beneath the palace already, and with any luck, he would be reading Fire Lord Sozin’s hidden memoirs. 

All Iroh could do now was wait for something new to happen. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  


Zuko was indeed on his way to the dragon bone catacombs in search of this supposed  _ secret history _ that the sages kept records of. He had found a hidden message on the mysterious scroll left for him, a hidden phrase written in fire-activated invisible ink that had only revealed itself when he tossed the parchment onto a candle in frustration. Now, with Yzako sitting around meditating in the royal gardens, Zuko was sneaking through the palace’s corridors, following a fire sage.

The old man walked into a large, empty courtyard, pausing to stand on top of a colorful design in the floor tiles. Zuko watched from behind a pillar as the sage used firebending to activate a secret door, the tiles rotating apart to reveal a winding staircase leading underground. He had heard of the catacombs beneath the royal palace, but he had never seen any of the entrances, much less used them. Now, as he waited for the sky to continue growing darker and the sage to return, he was almost excited to be exploring his home. He had never been allowed to as a child, always restricted to the well known halls and rooms that the royal family occupied. Now, he was beginning to see that the Fire Nation capital held even more secrets than he previously thought, and he wanted to know all of them. 

When the sage  _ finally _ reappeared through the secret door, Zuko waited for him to leave the courtyard and then quickly slipped down the stairs. He didn’t know what he expected to find, but somehow, the catacombs were almost cozy, the walls lined with dragon skulls and torches that cast a warm orange glow throughout the tunnels. He briefly wondered where so many dragon bones had come from...but he feared he already knew the answer, and shook the thoughts from his head. Now wasn’t the time to get caught up in reflecting on dragon poaching. 

A statue of Fire Lord Sozin came into view, and Zuko stopped before it. Placing a hand on the Fire Nation emblem on its chest lit up its eyes, activating some kind of locking mechanism inside the door that caused it to slide open. 

Dust and cobwebs fluttered down on top of the prince as he walked inside the small room, and what he found within it was a large golden dragon statue that looked absolutely nothing like Kul. Zuko stood before it for a moment, criticizing its design as if it mattered, before he looked down and saw a collection of scrolls all placed neatly in a row. 

“‘ _ The Final Testament of Fire Lord Sozin,’”  _ he read out loud to himself, picking up the first one. He brushed cobwebs off before unrolling it and sitting down, lighting a nearby torch so that he could make out the writing on the parchment. 

_ “As I feel my own life dimming, I can’t help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter. I remember my friend, Roku, with whom I spent many days of my youth. Back in those days, things were simpler, easier, and our greatest worries lied in attracting the attention of pretty girls and completing our lessons. Times like those never last, though, and on our shared sixteenth birthday, the fire sages informed Roku that he was the next avatar. It was from that moment on that everything changed. _

_ “Soon, the day came that my friend had to leave the Fire Nation and face his destiny as the avatar. He needed to travel the world so he could master the other elements. Before his departure, I insisted that he accept a gift, and gave him my crown, a royal artifact meant to be worn by the Fire Nation crown prince. Then, he was gone.  _

_ “Twelve long years passed before I saw my friend again. When Roku returned, he was a fully realized avatar, and I had changed, as well. I took the throne upon my father’s passing, becoming Fire Lord and allowing the weight of leadership to bear down upon my shoulders. Many things were different on the day my old friend entered my throne room for the first time, but one thing the years had not changed was our friendship, and it was a few short months after his return to our homeland that I officiated Roku’s wedding. _

_ “He married a woman of noble birth by the name of Ta Min. She was beautiful, and he was persistent, charming her with his kindness and gentle soul. On wedding days, we look to the future with optimism and joy. I had my own vision for a brighter future. I took Roku aside to tell him of my plans for our nation and for the world as a whole, certain that the friend whom I shared so many things with would understand what I wanted to do. We were both destined for greatness--I was destined to become Fire Lord, and Roku was destined to become the avatar. I knew that with Roku at my side, I could do anything. _

_ “The Fire Nation was in an unprecedented state of prosperity. Its economy and people were strong, and we had enjoyed an extended period of peace the likes of which our turbulent homeland had never experienced before. I wanted to share that greatness with the world, to expand the Fire Nation’s empire and make it even stronger. Roku refused to consider the possibilities, however, and as he left the royal city to live his own life, I moved on without him. I would not let my friend’s stubbornness impede my plans for the future. _

_ “When Roku returned once more, it was because he had learned that I established a colony in the Earth Kingdom. It became clear that his loyalty was no longer to his nation, and though he spared my life on the day that I incurred his wrath, it would be the last time I saw or heard from my old friend. Twenty five long years passed, and while I slowed my invasion of the Earth Kingdom, Roku lived peacefully on an island that had come to be his. Then, in the dark of the night, it happened.  _

_ “Roku’s island was 100 miles away, but I could still feel it rumbling, and could see the black plume of smoke. I had never seen anything like this catastrophe. I flew to his aid, traveling on the back of my dragon until I saw the volcanic eruption that shook the earth and spewed fire into the sky.  _

_ “The air itself was poison. I tried to help Roku battle nature itself, but in the end, the toxic gas and smoke proved to be too much for both of us, and I escaped alone. I abandoned my oldest friend on the side of that erupting volcano, and I didn’t look back as I did it. With Roku gone and the great comet returning, the timing was perfect to change the world. I knew the next avatar would be born an Air Nomad, so I wiped out the air temples. But somehow, the new avatar eluded me. _

_ “I’ve wasted the remainder of my life searching in vain. I know he’s hiding out there somewhere. The Fire Nation’s greatest threat. The last airbender.” _

  
  


Zuko stared down at the final scroll. “That can’t be it. Where’s the rest of it?” he flipped it over to find nothing but blank space, and looking around the room revealed nothing. 

He stood with a frustrated yell, throwing the scroll down. Nothing had been revealed to him, no new knowledge, no damning family secrets. Someone had sent him on a stupid wild turtleduck chase, and he was fairly certain that he knew who that someone was. 

Leaving the catacombs the same way he had come in, the prince hurried up to the prison tower, stomping through its halls until he reached his uncle’s cell. He found the old man sitting with his back to the door, facing the wall like always, back hunched over. His hair and clothing was as pathetic and dirty as ever, the sight of him doing little to calm Zuko’s rage as he waved his original message in the air. 

“You sent me this, didn’t you?” he asked angrily. “I found the  _ secret _ history, which, by the way, should be renamed  _ the history most people already know.  _ The note said that I needed to learn about my great-grandfather’s death, but he was still alive in the end!”

Iroh turned slowly, raising his head to look at Zuko. “No, he wasn’t.”

“What are you talking about?” his nephew snapped. 

“You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father’s grandfather. Your  _ mother’s _ grandfather was Avatar Roku.”

Zuko’s eyes widened, his teeth clenched angrily. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself.”

Zuko almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had never been told anything about his mother’s lineage, and had believed his entire life that the avatar,  _ every _ avatar, was his enemy. Now, finding out that Aang’s previous incarnation was his own great-grandfather...he didn’t know what to do. 

He sank to his knees, holding his head tightly. All he came from was a family with a long legacy of betrayal. What was the point in having yet another reason to be unsure of himself? His uncle was a fool for bringing this to light.

“Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko.” Iroh said. “It is your nature, your legacy. But, there is a brighter side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire Nation. Born in you, along with all this strife, is the power to restore balance to the world.”

Zuko looked up, his mouth set in a deep frown as his uncle stood. He watched as Iroh walked to the back of his cell, removing a brick from the wall and retrieving something from behind it. When he turned back around, he was carrying something wrapped in cloth, and as he revealed the item in his hand, Zuko stared at it in surprise.

“This is a royal artifact.” Iroh said, holding a golden crown out towards his nephew. “It’s supposed to be worn by the crown prince.”

Zuko stood slowly, reaching through the bars to take the metal hairpiece from his uncle. It was the same one that Sozin had described in his scrolls, the very artifact that had been given to Avatar Roku before he left to begin his training in the other elements. Zuko had no idea how Iroh had gotten it or why he had been hiding it in his prison cell, but as he brushed the pad of his thumb over the swooping, flame-shaped sides, he found himself happy that he had. 

“Thank you, Uncle.” he said quietly. “I’ll...think about what you’ve shown me.”

Iroh smiled in relief. It wasn’t much of a response, but it was far better than what he had expected from his nephew. 

“I’m going to go find Yzako.” Zuko began to turn. “I’ll, uh...tell her you said hello?”

“Yes, please do,” Iroh chuckled. If only his stubborn, bullheaded nephew knew that the Golden Dragon had been visiting him all along. “Please give Kul my regards, as well.”

“I will.” Zuko paused as if he wanted to say something more, but then shook his head slightly and left much more quietly than he had come in. 

He returned to the gardens where he had last glimpsed Yzako, trying to keep his mind clear along the way. His uncle had given him far too much to think about, and he was tired. All he wanted was to end his night peacefully, collecting Yzako and leading her to their bed so that they could both get some sleep. As he approached Kul’s big golden form, though, he found that Yzako was sitting in the center of the dragon’s long, looping body, perfectly still and breathing deeply as she meditated. 

Zuko stepped over Kul’s tail and sat down with a sigh. If he had to wait for her to finish whatever exercises she was trying to do, then he would. At least he didn’t have to venture into any more dusty catacombs or try to do any more reading in dim light with his one good eye. Now, he could lean against Kul and try to take a nap. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  


Yzako was standing near a river, the water clear and cool. She was surrounded by fields of tall grass, its stems brushing up against her as she began walking. Just like the last time she had come to visit, the spirit world was beautiful but unnerving, entirely too silent for her liking. 

“Bailong?” she called, looking around. There was no sign of anything, no birds or frogs or bugs. There was only herself and her voice, all alone in this strange, unnatural world. “Bailong, where are you? It’s me!”

The sound of something large and the rush of wind above her made her look up, and she beheld the sight of a white dragon as it landed in the grass before her. Bailong bowed his head and she returned the gesture, straightening up again and speaking quickly. 

“I need your guidance,” she said. 

“I sense that there are a great many things that you need.” he said, walking past her. “Come. Walk through this field with me, and let us see if we can’t make clearer your confusion.”

Yzako followed him, jogging to keep up with his long strides. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m trying to protect everyone I love, but I'm afraid that in order to do that, I’m going to have to do something terrible.”

“It seems to me that much has changed since we last spoke.” Bailong said. “The energy that once felt blocked is beginning to flow again. Your rage has quelled, though it still burns brightly inside of you.”

“Yes,” Yzako said impatiently. “I admit that I love Zuko. He’s even courting me, so we might...get married one day. Or something. But that’s not the point!”

“Ah, love is a wonderful thing.” Bailong sighed, ignoring her. “Dragons are a symbol of love, just as we are a symbol of power.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yes, I believe it is quite nice.” he chuckled. 

“Okay, but as I was saying--”

“I am glad to see that Prince Zuko returns your affections. The last time we spoke, you were confused about him. You would not allow yourself to see how much you loved him, thinking that your perceived duties to the Fire Lord were more important than protecting the man you love.”

“Why are you just stating the obvious?” Yzako asked, her cheeks heating up. “I’m not here to discuss my love life with you, I’m here because I need advice on how to avoid burning up the entire world and becoming the monster that Ozai wants me to be!”

“What is it that Ozai asks of you?” 

“He wants to use me as a weapon to win the war. The avatar is going to lead an invasion soon, during the solar eclipse, and Ozai is using me as a guard.” Yzako shook her head. “He told me some of his plans for when Sozin’s Comet arrives, and he wants me to serve as his right hand when he crowns himself Phoenix King and takes over the world.”

“And what exactly is it that you are afraid of?” Bailong asked. 

“I’m...I’m afraid that…” she sighed. “Since we last spoke, I destroyed Ba Sing Se. I had no choice, and if I didn’t do it, Azula was going to kill Zuko and Iroh on the spot. It was the only way for me to make sure that they survived, so I...Kul and I, I mean...burned the city. The problem is, I kind of...liked it.”

“The rush of the wind in your mane, the smell of smoke filling your nostrils, the warmth of your own flames...it is a feeling that all dragons know. We are creatures born of fire, an unpredictable, destructive, passionate element that both gives and takes life. What you felt as you burned Ba Sing Se was your own inner fire stretching and taking flight.” Bailong said, looking down at her. 

“Are you saying it’s okay that I enjoyed something as terrible as burning an entire city?” Yzako asked, raising her voice angrily. “I ruined the lives of hundreds--no,  _ thousands-- _ of people!”

“Our fire can be difficult to control, no matter what we use it for. Now, you must make things right. Ba Sing Se was but one step in a long journey for you. It is up to you to decide what happens in the end.”

“But that’s my problem!” she yelled. “How am I supposed to know that what I’m doing is right? It was so easy for me to destroy Ba Sing Se, and now Ozai is going to force me to wage war on the day of the comet! My bending is going to be way stronger than it already is, and I--I’m afraid of what I’m going to do.” her voice was cracking, tears in her eyes as she looked up at Bailong helplessly. “I didn’t ask for any of this. All I wanted was my freedom, but there’s always something in the way of it.”

“Little one, do not fear yourself.” the dragon stopped, looking down at her with his big, bright eyes. “You must trust that in the moment, you will know what to do. You are not the first Golden Dragon to face war, and you will certainly not be the last. The ability to do the right thing is in your very spirit; all you must do is trust in yourself.”

“But this is bigger than just protecting the Fire Nation,” Yzako argued. “This is about the entire world.”

“The Golden Dragons before you guarded the Fire Nation from countless disasters and attacks, both from inner and outer forces. Plagues, floods, volcanic eruptions, wars, invasions...all of these are events which impact the lives of firebenders, and as such, are events that the Golden Dragon must address. I have guided countless Dragons who have come before you through their own struggles, and not one of them was ever prepared to face their first great troubles.” Bailong began walking again. “You will survive this, and you will learn as you go. Trust in your heart and yourself, and you, too, will prosper.”

Yzako was quiet as she listened. “I can’t help but feel like you aren’t actually giving me any answers.”

“I will guide you, but you must find the answers to your questions within yourself.” the dragon said. “When the time comes, seek out the Sun Warriors, and the masters Ran and Shaw. Perhaps they will show you things that I cannot.”

As he walked, he began fading away. Yzako ran to catch up, having entirely too many unanswered questions left, but Bailong was already nearly gone before she could even open her mouth. 

“There is someone waiting for you in your world, little one.” he said. “It is best not to dawdle.”

“Wait, but--oh, come on!” she called out as she felt herself being pulled back to her body. 

When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to find Zuko sitting in front of her, his eyes closed as he nodded off. When Yzako moved, he jumped, rousing himself quickly as if he had been waiting for her. 

“Uh...hey,” she said, staring at him. 

“Hey,” he sighed. 

“What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be in bed?” she asked as nonchalantly as possible. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you?”

“Point taken.”

“I went into the catacombs tonight.” Zuko said, scooting closer. “My uncle sent me a message about my great-grandfather’s history.”

“...He did?”

“He did. He says hi, by the way.”

Yzako snorted a laugh. “Thanks. What did you learn about Sozin?”

“Nothing new, but that wasn’t the point. My uncle wanted me to learn about the death of my  _ mother’s _ grandfather.” Zuko reached for her hand, taking it in his. “I never knew anything about her family. I thought it was because she was a commoner, but she wasn’t.”

“Oh? She wasn’t?” Yzako asked, trying to act surprised. Zuko didn’t need to know that she was already aware of his lineage, thanks to Min. 

“No. Roku was her grandfather.” he looked down at their hands, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“About what?” she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. “You’re still yourself, Zuko. You were always Roku’s descendant, you just didn’t know it.”

“Uncle was talking about how I needed to understand the struggle between Sozin and Roku in order to understand the battle between good and evil within myself.” Zuko shook his head slightly. “But I don’t know what to do. Sozin left Roku to die and then destroyed the Air Nomads once his oldest friend was out of his way. Uncle told me that it’s up to me to restore my family’s honor, but how am I supposed to do that when all we know how to do is betray our friends and siblings? It didn’t help me at all. It just made me feel  _ worse.” _

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was just in the spirit world talking to a dragon who told me that I might be a weapon of mass destruction and I should just embrace that and assume I’ll do the right thing when the time comes.” Yzako said weakly. “At least, I think that’s what he was saying. He wouldn’t actually  _ tell _ me anything.”

Zuko sighed. “This is too hard. Why am I doubting myself so much? I have everything I want now. I have my old life and my title back, I even have you...and my father isn’t absolutely disgusted by my presence anymore. Everything should be perfect, but it’s not.”

Yzako frowned. “Talking like that can be dangerous, Zuko.”

He leaned back, his eyes narrowed. “Is that a threat?”

“Not at all.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me about it?”

“Zuko...don’t forget what I did to make sure we would both be here now.  _ Alive. _ ” Yzako said, meeting his eyes. “And don’t forget how short a leash I’m being kept on. I’m trying to ensure that you stay  _ safe. _ Please don’t make my job any harder.”

Zuko’s expression softened and he pulled her in close again, dragging her halfway onto his lap. “In Ba Sing Se, when Katara and I were imprisoned in those crystal catacombs together, I told her that I’d learned to finally listen to you. That you carry more burdens than anyone will ever know about. So...I’m listening to you now. What do you want me to do?”

Yzako leaned back slightly, smiling up at him, albeit a bit sadly. “Just stay safe and focus on being a good crown prince. We both have to figure out our destinies somehow, but we have to be alive to do that.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”

“And...one more thing?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t stop loving me.”

It was Zuko’s turn to smile. He took her chin in his hand, pulling her in for a kiss. “I’ll never stop, even when the sun is dark and the earth is cold.”

Yzako sighed happily against his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”


	73. Burned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a little bit of a longer chapter! The Day of Black Sun is so close I can T A S T E I T

“Come on, is that all you’ve got?” Yzako taunted, sidestepping to dodge an attack. 

“You’re slower than I remember. All this pampering making you lazy?” Zuko asked, aiming another punch at her. 

“You wish!” She scoffed before hooking her leg behind his. It was a move that always worked on Zuko, despite his strong stances. Back on the ship, it had always guaranteed her a quick win whenever they sparred together. 

He suddenly pivoted away before she could do anything to sweep his leg out from under him, using her surprise to come back around and grab her arm. Before Yzako knew what was happening, Zuko had a knee on her back, and her face was in the sand of the training ring.

Well, her leg sweep move always  _ used  _ to work on him.

“ _ Is that all you’ve got?”  _ He mocked, leaning down to bite at her ear playfully.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yzako grumbled, worming her way out from under him. “You got lucky.”

“Best two out of three and we’ll see how lucky I am.”

“Only two out of three? I say five outta seven!” Chun yelled from the sidelines. 

Zuko’s face fell and he sighed. “I almost forgot we have  _ spectators.” _

“I could look at that bare chest all day!” Fen shouted, giggling loudly. “Come on, don’t stop now! Work up a sweat!”

“Yeah, Zuko,” Min smirked. “Show us what we miss out on every night.”

He finally turned to look at the gaggle of Ba Sing Se girls all sitting in the grass near the edge of the ring, leaning up against Kul’s side as the dragon lounged. “You know, you can’t talk to me like that anymore! I’m the crown prince!”

“Yeah, so?” Chun asked.

“So I could have you banished!”

“Doesn’t mean you ever will!” Fen laughed. 

“But I could!”

“Zu Zu, why don’t you go sit with your  _ fans  _ and let me borrow Yzako for a round.” Azula said, stepping into the ring.

He gave her a wary glance before stepping away, leaving Yzako to face her new opponent. She bowed to the princess, watching Azula carefully as they both straightened up and took defensive stances.

“It’s been a while since we trained together,” Yzako commented. 

“Indeed. Don’t go  _ easy  _ on me like you do Zuko, though.” Azula sneered. “I don’t need you to hold back.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Yzako growled before launching herself at the princess.

“Wow,” Min remarked as she and the others watched the two firebenders attack each other. “This doesn’t feel like sparring, does it?”

“This is my sister’s way of trying to prove a point.” Zuko huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “She wants to show that she’s better than me by using Yzako.”

“You guys sure have a weird family.” Chun mumbled.

“You have no idea.”

As blue flames met white, Yzako and Azula were both tossed back, the power of their fire knocking them away from each other. 

“Hey, Zuko?” Fen asked.

“What?”

“Why are Azula’s flames blue? I’ve never seen that before.”

“Yeah, me neither.” He rolled his eyes. 

“Why is she the only person like that?” Chun asked. “Is that...special?”

“You could say that.” Zuko’s eyes followed Yzako and Azula as they ran at each other once more. “When she was younger, her fire was orange, like everyone else’s. She started to excel in her bending, and her flames grew hotter and hotter. People used to say she was second only to our father when it came to raw power.”

“Used to?” Min asked, glancing at him. “What do people say now?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “Someone new came along. Someone who was firebending as soon as she could walk.”

Min’s gaze followed his, settling on Yzako. She was practically dancing around Azula, her movements graceful and smooth as if this were all a well rehearsed stage play. Her expression was blank and almost serene, her breathing calm despite the physical exertion. 

“She looks like she’s barely noticing how much work she’s doing,” Chun said in awe.

“That’s thanks to my uncle.” Zuko nodded. “When I first met Yzako, she had only been trained by the fire sages. She was powerful, but it was just that: nothing but raw power. Uncle Iroh trained her every day and taught her to control herself.”

“Tell us the story of how you met!” Fen demanded.

“Yes, Zuko,” Zhang agreed, finally speaking up. “We never heard the real version.”

Zuko stared at her. “Uh...didn’t you want to watch her spar?”

“Not anymore!” Chun agreed. 

“Yeah, Zuko! I wanna hear too!” A new voice piped up.

At the sight of Ty Lee cartwheeling toward them, Zuko sighed heavily. “Is there a reason everyone is meeting here today? Did I miss something?”

“Not everyone!” Ty Lee landed on her feet in front of him. “Mai is busy with family stuff because her father is home from Omashu! So you don’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of her or anything like that!”

“Who’s Mai?” Chun asked.

“Do  _ not—“ _

“She’s Zuko’s ex girlfriend!” Ty Lee interrupted him. “She lives in the big house across the plaza because her family’s really rich, but she and Zuko don’t get along very well since he’s all in love now and she’s so grumpy about everything!”

“Oh, really now?” Min asked slyly, grinning at Zuko. “ _ Please  _ tell us all the gossip. We’re just  _ dying  _ to know.”

“Okay! So one time, Azula—“

“Ty Lee,” Zuko said sharply. “Did you want to hear my story?”

“Wait, yes! I totally do!” She plopped down on her butt in the middle of the Ba Sing Se girls, looking up at him with a huge smile on her face. 

Kul bent his long neck, reaching around to grumble happily and nuzzle his snout against her side. Ty Lee giggled, throwing her arms around his nose in a hug just as Fen shrieked with laughter and did the same on his other side. 

“Who’s a big brave boy?” Ty Lee asked in a voice similar to one she might use on a dog. “Who’s a scary fire breathing dragon? You are!”

“You’re so handsome!” Fen said, scratching at Kul’s eye ridge.

He trilled, his tail waving so quickly it was practically wagging.

Zuko facepalmed. 

“ _ We  _ haven’t forgotten about you,” Chun said.

“Yeah, come on!” Min demanded.

“You’ve got us all on the edge of our seats,” Zhang added. 

“ _ Fine.”  _ Zuko huffed, sitting down cross legged in front of them. “It was last year. There we were, in the South Pole. My uncle and I were hunting for the avatar in the Southern Water Tribe, and we finally found him. I captured him, but he damaged my ship and got away. We had to dock for repairs in a Fire Nation shipyard run by Admiral Zhao.”

“Ooo, I’ve heard of him!” Ty Lee said excitedly. 

“I’m sure you did. He was leader of the navy before he fell at the North Pole.” Zuko smirked. “Anyway...there she was, in the middle of a cold, dirty shipyard wearing golden silks from the palace.”

“Was it love at first sight?” Chun sighed. 

“No.” He snorted. “But...maybe second or third. I challenged Zhao to an Agni Kai after he insulted me, and Yzako breathed some kind of dragon blessing into me, or...something. All I know is my bending has been more powerful ever since.”

“What was she doing there?” Min asked.

“She was...looking for me.”

“Why?”

“Because my father had given her orders to track me down and kill me.”

Everyone, including Ty Lee even though she knew this story by now, gasped loudly. 

“So she was your assassin?” Chun asked. 

“She was supposed to be. She ended up coming aboard my ship to train with my uncle.”

“And then you fell in  _ loooooove?” _

“I thought she was pretty.” Zuko said, watching Yzako as she rolled out of the way of an attack. “I still think she’s pretty.”

“Well, duh!” Fen laughed. “You’d better, if you wanna marry her!”

“Oooh, are you guys gonna have a big wedding?” Ty Lee asked. “This girl Azula and I went to school with just got married! Azula didn’t go, but Mai and I did. All the decorations were white and red, though, no pink--”

She was interrupted by a loud yell. Azula was getting frustrated, unable to pry a win out of Yzako’s hands, and her anger was reaching its boiling point. With several sets of eyes on her, and believing that her own honor was at stake, the princess lunged forward, lightning surging forth from her outstretched hand. 

Zuko heard gasps around him, but he looked on calmly as Yzako caught the blast and redirected it back towards Azula’s surprised face. She must not have known that Yzako was capable of something like that, because the volley caught her off guard and sent her flying backwards. 

Zuko smiled slightly. Yeah, Azula definitely wasn’t the second most powerful firebender in the palace anymore. The speed and skill that Yzako had tossed the lightning strike around with was absolutely terrifying to anyone who knew how dangerous it was, and Iroh would have been pleased to see how skilled she was if he were there. Maybe Zuko would be able to tell him the next time he visited his uncle in prison, if he got another chance before the eclipse came.

Yzako straightened up, lips turned upwards in a smirk as electricity crackled at her fingertips. There was nothing she loved more than winning a fight, especially one that involved Azula. The princess was already climbing to her feet again, a furious look on her face as she stepped towards Yzako to demand a rematch, but the sound of a voice stopped her in her tracks. 

“I am most impressed, Yzako.” Ozai said, approaching the training ring with several of his highest-ranking ministers following behind. “I did not know you possessed the ability to redirect lightning.”

Yzako snapped to attention, bowing quickly. Zuko and Azula both straightened up as well, years of training resulting in complete obedience as they greeted their father with low bows. Ty Lee mimicked them, motioning for all the girls from Ba Sing Se to follow. The only one who didn’t move was Kul, the dragon regarding the Fire Lord with a dangerously uninterested expression on his big face. 

Ozai chose not to comment on it.

“Your mastery over firebending continues to steadily improve, it seems. I am glad to see it.” He said.

“Thank you, Fire Lord.” Yzako rose to face him. 

“I wish to see more of your skill.” Ozai moved forward, leaving his entourage at the edge of the ring. “Step aside, Azula.”

The princess’s face fell. “But Father, I—“

“I will not repeat myself.” He said coldly, glaring down at his daughter. 

“Yes,  _ Father.”  _ Azula sneered, shooting an angry look at Yzako before stalking away. “Ty Lee, come with me.”

“That’s my cue!” Ty Lee said, bounding after her. “It was great talking to you guys!”

“Who exactly was that?” Fen whispered as they all watched her go.

“It doesn’t matter!” Chun shushed her, biting her lip nervously as she looked at Yzako. 

The dragon girl was facing the Fire Lord, her posture stiff. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Zuko almost wanted to laugh at how casually she addressed his father, but he was too tense to find any real humor in the situation. Was the Fire Lord really about to challenge Yzako to a duel? Ozai was waving some nearby servants over, holding his arms out for them as they removed his shoulder armor and outer robes. He was left in simple, but elegant, training pants, his chest and feet bare. 

Okay, he was  _ definitely  _ trying to duel her.

“Okay, is it just me, or is Ozai surprisingly well built?” Chun whispered, casting a glance in Min’s direction. 

“Don’t even start.” Min growled. 

Zuko frowned at the exchange. 

“I want to see what you’re capable of, Golden Dragon,” Ozai said. “Don’t hold back.”

Yzako paled. As she stood there in the sand, facing the Fire Lord, she was reminded of the story of Zuko’s scar. Ozai was a big, intimidating man, his eyes mean, his expression cruel, and even with the power of a dragon at her side, he was making her nervous. As scared as she was, though, she couldn’t imagine how a young Zuko would have felt as he stared up at his monster of a father, and she couldn’t fathom the terror that must have flashed through him the moment he realized that he was going to be attacked without any mercy. 

She narrowed her eyes. With the knowledge that Zuko was there, watching from just several yards away, Yzako made up her mind. The Fire Lord didn’t deserve to scare her, not when his son was looking on. Ozai was going to see why  _ he  _ should fear  _ her,  _ and if he wanted to feel the full force of her fire, then that was what he was going to get. 

“As you wish, Fire Lord.” She said, taking a few steps back. 

They bowed to each other, and it began. 

Ozai was strong and fast, just as Yzako had predicted. His movements were angry and deliberate, keeping her on her toes as he threw fireballs at her in a calculated pattern intended to disorient her. She danced out of the way, redirecting stray blasts and forming a shield of flames to protect herself when Ozai showed no signs of slowing down. 

When there was finally a pause in his assault, Yzako used the fire from her little shield to build the beginning of a massive stream, flames leaping from her open hands. Ozai tossed them to the side as they were nothing, seeming unimpressed as he aimed a kick at her head.

“I believe I told you not to hold back,” he growled.

“I’m just getting started!” Yzako snarled, falling for the taunt. Flames erupted around the edge of the ring, the spectators all jumping back.

Ozai let out a laugh. “This is  _ battle,  _ Yzako, not a  _ circus.  _ No need for such theatrics.”

“They’re not theatrics,” she panted as white flames arched away from her hands. “They’re there to make sure you can’t run.”

As she advanced on him with a series of calm, quick movements, Ozai’s eyes widened slightly. Now that she was finally beginning to fight back, he was getting a glimpse of the power that had burned Admiral Zhao, destroyed Ba Sing Se, and defeated Azula in their training matches time and time again. He was pleased to see that the more he egged her on, the stronger Yzako’s attacks grew...but she was almost proving to be too much for him to handle. 

Yzako’s eyes were shining, the fire inside her chest burning brightly. Her nostrils were flared as she breathed deeply, bringing in as much air as she could to stoke her flames. It felt good to be fighting, to be  _ attacking,  _ and not have to go easy on her opponent. Her energy was flowing freely, her limbs moving automatically, the fire leaving her quickly and efficiently in huge, impressive blazes that arced up into the sky. She was getting caught up in it all, in the movements that came so naturally to her. Yzako’s mind was clear and her spirit was happy in a way that only bending could make it. 

Ozai was also happy, but not because of his firebending. He was frustrated on that front, angry with himself when he found that he was struggling to hold his own against this girl when he was supposed to be the strongest firebender in the world. While it felt good to be stretching his legs and fighting a worthy opponent, it was infuriating to know that there was a very,  _ very  _ real chance that if he didn’t stop her, Yzako could kill him. 

No, he wasn’t happy with himself so much as he was happy that she was so  _ powerful _ , and that she was  _ his  _ to control. Yzako was his pawn, his pet, his  _ weapon,  _ and he liked to know that with her in his pocket, his victory in the war was assured. If she was this strong now, he couldn’t imagine what she would be like when Sozin’s Comet enhanced her bending.

He couldn’t wait to find out. 

Until then, all he needed to do was keep her in line. Ozai had to maintain her loyalty and ensure that she was happy with him, lest she lose her drive to set the world ablaze. He  _ also  _ needed to survive this battle, and remind her that there was a reason  _ he  _ was in charge of  _ her.  _ He didn’t like that he felt the slightest twinge of fear as the heat of her flames brushed against his bare skin, and he was determined to put a stop to it. 

Luckily, he had planned ahead. Ozai had an ace up his sleeve, something he had initially learned from the fire sages when Yzako came into his care. They told him of their training methods, and though the old fools had failed to break the dragon in their temple, they had managed to instill a few  _ lessons _ in her that seemed to last. When she had been dragged back to the palace after her little romp around the North Pole, Ozai had given his men explicit instructions on how to punish her, and assuming they had obeyed, their actions  _ should have _ reinforced what the sages started. He supposed it was time to find out for sure whether or not he needed to find a new way to control her. 

He flexed his arm, a fiery whip appearing in his hand. Yzako didn’t notice it at first, too busy creating a whirlwind of flames that she sent spinning towards the Fire Lord. Ozai easily dispelled the attack, stepping through the fire and cracking his whip loudly enough that it could be heard over the roar of the flames around the training ring. 

Yzako froze at the sound. 

The memory of immeasurable pain suddenly overtook her and she shied away, backing up quickly as Ozai advanced. The happiness of her firebending immediately disappeared as fear washed over her, her movements quickly becoming unsure and stuttery. There was a cruel grin on the Fire Lord’s face as he cracked the whip once more, and before Yzako could try to collect herself and retaliate, the long, hot flames were snapping towards her. 

She screamed in horror, eyes wide as she scrambled back through the sand, but she wasn’t fast enough. The whip caught her ankle, and as she resisted and tried to pull back, she could feel its flames burning her bare skin. It wasn’t a sensation that she was used to, actually being burned, and it only heightened her terror as Ozai yanked her off her feet and stepped over her. 

He was pleased to see that deep down inside, she was still just a frightened, feral beast waiting to be controlled. The fear in her eyes showed Ozai that no matter how strong Yzako grew, he still had the upper hand, and he could still make her do whatever he wanted. 

The flames around them died down, and everyone gathered around the ring was finally able to get a glimpse at what was happening. They saw Yzako sitting on the ground, arms thrown out behind her to support herself as she looked up at the Fire Lord. Zuko and Kul were both on their feet, staring in alarm, just as they had been from the second they heard Yzako scream. Now, as a fiery whip disappeared from Ozai’s hand, Zuko was fairly certain he had a good idea of exactly what transpired behind those flames.

There were few things that could scare Yzako the way the sight and sound of a whip could. He could remember an old discussion they had about scars once, and though it was brief, he knew it was something that was important to her. He had seen the faint marks on her back, and he could imagine that even if they didn’t physically hurt anymore, the pain was still there. 

Yzako was breathing heavily, her eyes wide like a scared animal. The look on her face reminded Zuko of her expression when she had nearly died in that little Earth Kingdom town, when she was frightened and hurt and confused. He hated seeing it, hated knowing that she was panicking on the inside, and he was angry at his father for causing her so much distress. The Fire Lord was being, to put it plainly, a fucking asshole, and as Zuko watched him standing over Yzako with a triumphant look in his eye, he was filled with more rage than ever before. 

And that was saying something, considering how he spent most of his life consumed by hatred. 

Zuko wanted to intervene. He wanted to jump into that ring and face his father. He wanted to pick Yzako up and tell her that everything was going to be okay...but before he could even move a muscle, Kul was there, crossing the distance between himself and his human with a few big strides. The dragon stood over Yzako, legs on either side of her as he forced Ozai to back up with a loud snarl that even the Fire Lord couldn’t face. His lips were pulled back over very real, very  _ big, _ fangs, a low, guttural growl rumbling from his throat as he lowered his head and defended Yzako from her attacker. 

There was a flicker of surprise on Ozai’s face, something that Zuko noticed immediately. It looked strange, seeing his father seem to be afraid of anything, but a delighted feeling was rising in his chest. At least someone was standing up to him. At least Kul was brave enough to do what Zuko couldn’t yet. 

Ozai composed himself, turning to wave for his servants to bring his robe. “I am pleased to see that you are well prepared for the Day of Black Sun, Yzako. I expect that you will continue training until then. We have only several days left to prepare.”

Kul was still glaring at the Fire Lord as he raised a big paw and used it to help Yzako stand. Her legs were shaky, not from the physical exertion of the fight, but from the shock of Ozai’s actions. How had he managed to completely unravel her so quickly? One moment she had him, the next...she was somehow terrified, her heart pounding, her palms sweating. It felt similar to how her nightmares tended to wake her up in the dark of the night with memories of the sages trying to beat her down over and over again, and though she did her best not to think about it, it reminded her of the torture she had endured at the palace. 

As she tried to stand on her own, pain seared through her ankle and she winced. When she looked down, she saw that Ozai’s whip had actually,  _ truly _ burned her, an ugly mark forming on her skin. It still felt hot, but it was a heat she couldn’t get rid of, an uncomfortable sensation that only made her feel more scared. Why had he done that? Why would he hurt her when he kept saying that he wanted her in tip top shape for the invasion? 

“You burned me,” she said, just loud enough that he would hear. 

“Hm?” he turned to look at her. 

“My ankle.” she raised her voice slightly. “Why would you do that?”

Ozai glanced at her and then turned away again, as if it were beneath him to even answer. “To remind you of your place, my little dragon. You are not as invincible as you think. Do not assume that you are untouchable.”

She frowned, bile rising in her throat as her anxiety threatened to overtake her. “I never said that I was.”

“You are already afforded many luxuries that those around us do not have.” he said. “For example, you have a tendency not to address your Fire Lord properly. Do not forget who you belong to, Yzako.”

With that, he was gone, joined by his entourage. She watched him leave, hands clenched in fists as she debated what to do. It would be foolish to run after him, especially when she couldn’t even stand without feeling pain, but she wanted to. She wanted to make him eat his words. She wanted to show Ozai that he wasn’t as in control of her as he thought...but that was a lie, and she knew it. He had just demonstrated exactly how much power he had over her, and as the moment passed and her terror settled back into little more than nervousness, Yzako realized what had just transpired. 

The Fire Lord had cheated because he was afraid. 

Kul lowered his head, warm breath brushing over her hair as he swished his upper lip over her head. He seemed to be checking her over, trying to make sure that she was in one piece. While he did so, Yzako narrowed her eyes, still staring at Ozai’s back as he disappeared into the palace again. He wouldn’t stand a chance against her if he didn’t have that stupid little trick up his sleeve. She had been so caught up in her own bending that she hadn’t even realized how close she was to winning, but his actions proved that he had gotten scared and had decided to end their fight before she had the chance to defeat him. 

And she had gotten that far without Kul’s assistance. 

“Yzako,” at the sound of Zuko’s worried voice, she turned her head, seeing him running towards her. 

“I’m fine.” she said before he could ask. “I just...want to go get washed up. I think I’m done for the day.”

He frowned. “Let me walk with you.”

“I’m fine, Zuko, really--”

“No.” he interrupted, taking her arm. “You’re not. Let’s go to the gardens first.”

“But I--”

“Come on.” he gave her a little tug, convincing her to go with him. 

Yzako sighed. “Okay.”

Zuko looked over his shoulder at the girls from Ba Sing Se, tossing his head in the direction of the palace doors. “Go tell the maids that we want a hot bath drawn. You can...enjoy the water until we get there.”

Chun’s sullen face suddenly lit up.”Yes sir!”

“I’ve always wanted to try those fancy tubs!” Fen jumped to her feet. “Min, come on. Let’s go sample the bath salts.”

Min looked at Zuko warily as she allowed Fen and Chun to pull her up. “Okay...I guess…”

Zhang followed, the four of them heading back inside while Zuko led Yzako to the gardens. Kul lumbered along behind them, hovering close and laying down in the grass when they finally reached the turtleduck pond that Yzako and Zuko both seemed to love so much. 

When the dragon’s belly hit the ground, so did Yzako. She fell to her knees, teeth bared in a pained hiss as she pulled her burned ankle out from under her and tried to keep her angry tears from falling down her cheeks. This wasn’t how she wanted to spend her day  _ at all.  _ The sun was still high in the sky, and were it not for Ozai, she could have spent hours training with Zuko and kicking his ass finally.

But no. Now she was  _ injured. _

“Let me see it.” Zuko said, kneeling down next to her. 

“No,” she pulled away as he reached for her leg. “It’s fine. Don’t--”

“It isn’t fine,” he sighed, giving her an exasperated look. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Act so tough all the time.” 

“I’m not--”

“Then tell me what happened.”

“Nothing--”

“Yzako.”

Her eyes met his, and she suddenly couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. Zuko was someone she knew she could trust, almost as much as she trusted Kul, and the familiarsight of his face was enough to bring all of her walls tumbling down.

“I--I don’t  _ know _ , one minute I’m firebending and the next I’m just so fucking scared, and I can’t breathe and everything  _ hurts _ . Seeing that fucking whip, it just…”

She trailed off, leaning against Zuko. He wrapped an arm around her, giving her shoulder a tight squeeze. “It scared you.”

“I felt more than scared.” She swallowed hard, shaking her head. “I felt like...my mind just went  _ blank.  _ But somehow, at the same time, there were a million thoughts all racing through my head and I couldn’t pay attention to a single one of them. I froze up and I was just...I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe it.”

“You don’t have to. You’re okay now.”

She looked up at him. “I understand how it felt.”

“How what felt?”

“Facing Ozai and knowing you’re going to get burned.”

Zuko was silent, and Yzako suddenly regretted her words. He was staring at the pond, his jaw tensing. 

“Zuko, wait, I’m sorry—“

“You don’t.” He finally said. “Nobody does.”

Yzako looked down, ashamed of herself for assuming things. “Sorry.”

“My father is harsh.” He continued. “Everything about him is. His punishments are the harshest of all.”

“So what did he punish me for?” She asked boldly. 

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I do.”

Zuko finally looked down at her. “Are you going to tell me, or is that another part of your  _ special  _ job for the Fire Lord?”

“My job isn’t special,” she said angrily. “I don’t want anyone to envy the position I’m in.”

“Why not? He trusts you more than he trusts his own children.”

“Are you jealous of me?” Yzako scoffed. “There’s nothing to be jealous  _ of.  _ Didn’t you see how he just humiliated me back there to prove a stupid point?”

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked. “What point?”

“He got scared.” She huffed. “He’s  _ been  _ scared of me. Just like the sages, just like everybody else in my life. Everyone is just terrified of what the little dragon girl will do, so they all chain me up and beat me down.” 

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“You fled from me through the Earth Kingdom.”

“Well, you didn’t really give me much of a choice…”

Yzako pulled away. “Just admit that I’m right. Everyone is so worried about what I could do to them that they don’t even let me win stupid sparring matches or have a life.”

“I’m not scared of  _ you. _ Not ever.” Zuko reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “I have a... _ healthy fear _ of some of the things you can do, but in the way that anybody would be scared of a massive fire breathing dragon when it gets angry.”

“Yeah, well…” she sniffed. “Doesn’t change the fact that Ozai just burned me. It was so important to him that he injured me just days before the eclipse.”

“He’s confident that you’ll be strong enough by then to still carry out your duties.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “And I guess I  _ will _ be, won’t I? I don’t need any of that fancy waterbender healing, just a  _ dragon _ to make me feel better.”

“Hey.” Zuko pulled her forward to kiss her temple. “It’ll be okay.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she changed her mind and held her hand out towards the curious turtleducks in the pond instead. “I hope so.”

“It will.” he tugged her so that she was leaning her head against his chest. “You know, my mother loved this spot.”

“Did she?” Yzako looked up at him, happy for the subject to be changed. 

“Mhm. She used to sit here and feed the turtleducks all the time. She told me once that she liked how quiet and simple the gardens felt.”

“I’ve always liked it here, too.” she said, finally laughing quietly as one of the bravest turtleduck chicks nibbled at her fingers. 

Zuko smiled at the sight. He was relieved to hear her laugh, however brief it was. “Come on. Let’s go see if the girls managed to ask for that bath, or if they got distracted.”

He helped Yzako up, frowning when she winced in pain. Before he could try to scoop her up and carry her, though, Kul was there, lowering his head until his chin was practically brushing the grass. Yzako climbed onto his neck, holding onto his horns as he walked next to Zuko. The prince was almost a little jealous that the dragon got to carry her and he didn’t, but he was just happy to see that she was free of pain while she hugged Kul’s soft mane. 

While they walked, his mind wandered, thoughts of his father’s actions plaguing him. How could he have done that in front of everyone? And how did Zuko just stand by and  _ watch? _ He knew that speaking against the Fire Lord would have had serious repercussions, and he supposed that he, just like Yzako, had been trained to obey. But shouldn’t he have at least  _ tried, _ for her sake? 

He felt uneasy, and he didn’t like the doubts that were creeping up on him. 


	74. Monsters in the Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We draw ever closer to the Day of Black Sun and I cannot wait. Sorry for the slow update! Things are a little wild with the holidays and work right now lol

Yzako’s eyes were getting heavy as she sat and listened to Ozai drone on about next to nothing. She had been summoned just after dawn, grumbling to herself the entire time Jin got her ready for the day, only quieting down as she entered the throne room. Thus began her boring day, filled with little more than advisors running in and out to speak with the Fire Lord. Even he seemed to be getting sick of it, waving them away while he mulled things over in his mind. 

“Yzako,” Ozai finally said when they were alone. 

She straightened up with a jolt, trying to act like she hadn’t been dozing off. When she turned to look back at him, she saw that he had an almost frustrated expression, his brows furrowed as he stared off. “Yes, Fire Lord?”

“I tire of the throne room. Let us stretch our legs.”

Yzako blinked as he rose, staring as he walked down the steps and towards the door. He had never suggested that they leave to do anything else, and he had  _ certainly _ never invited her to do something as mundane as go on a walk. She knew Ozai tended to go for occasional strolls while he pondered war strategies, but it wasn’t often that he wandered with anyone simply for the sake of doing so. 

With little other choice, Yzako stood up and followed him. “Where are we going, Fire Lord?”

Ozai paused as the guards opened the doors. “The gardens, perhaps.”

Now Yzako was even more confused. He didn’t even  _ like  _ the gardens. What could he possibly want to go there for? She couldn’t imagine him enjoying simple things like feeding the turtleducks. Ozai was more the type to kill advisors when he felt bored, not...actually have fun. 

“Good idea, Fire Lord.” Yzako said as she followed him out into the corridor, Kul trailing along behind. 

It felt good to be doing something other than sitting around listening to political talk, and even if her company happened to consist of one of her least favorite people on the planet, Yzako was happy for the change of scenery. Ozai allowed her to walk at his side, something that she noticed immediately. After the way he had treated her just a few days earlier when he burned her ankle, why was he suddenly being so friendly? Was he trying to butter her up again for some reason? 

“The weather is lovely, isn’t it?” The Fire Lord asked as they walked out into the gardens.

Yzako looked up at him. Small talk? Really? Now  _ that  _ was truly off-putting. “It always is in the capital.”

“Hmph. I suppose you’re correct.” He folded his hands behind his back as he walked. “The sun always shines on the Fire Nation, Yzako. That is why my grandfather wanted to share our greatness with the rest of the world.”

She frowned slightly, turning her head as quickly as possible so that Ozai wouldn’t notice. “We are truly an impressive nation.”

He looked down at her. “So you agree.”

“Agree?” Yzako glanced back towards him. 

“You agree that it is our duty to take hold of this world and lead it into a new age of prosperity.”

His words sent a chill down her spine. He was making it sound so reasonable, as if the Fire Nation wasn’t waging a war that had begun with genocide. 

“Is that what we’re doing, Fire Lord?” Yzako dared to ask. 

Ozai continued walking, sparing her a sidelong glance. “What do you think we’re doing? What did the sages tell you for so many years?”

“I grew up without much talk of why we were at war.” She said, speaking to him honestly for once. “I was kept far away from the world, as you know, Fire Lord.”

“Surely the sages taught you  _ something.” _

“I was given reading material and occasionally they talked about the Hundred Year War.” Yzako shrugged. “It always felt far away, until I was suddenly involved in it.”

“But you never wondered  _ why  _ we spend so much time and resources on such a thing?” Ozai snorted. “You simply accepted the bloodshed? You are truly the weapon I hoped you would become, Yzako. Well done.”

She wanted to snap back at him about how she  _ wasn’t  _ just a tool for war, how she was so much  _ more  _ than that, how she was a person with an entire spectrum of thoughts and feelings and that she had changed since the first time he met her, but she couldn’t. Maybe, if she had been having this conversation back when Ozai had first invited her to the palace, she would have been angry enough to talk back. Maybe her unchecked temper would have gotten the best of her and she would have been able to speak her mind. But...maybe he would have beaten her for it, and it would have only led her to pain anyways. 

Besides, back then, she probably would have been agreeing with him. Yzako could barely remember her old self, and she had a feeling that if she met the person she used to be, she might not even recognize her. So much had changed over the past several months that her old life seemed further away than it really was. Truth be told...she had no idea who she was back then, or what she would have said.

“I suppose that before I saw the world, it seemed so far away that I never gave the war a second thought.” She finally replied as they walked along the stone path through the carefully tended foliage. 

“And what happened when I sent you off?” Ozai asked. “You saw the world, and after some, shall we say... _ hiccups,  _ you returned home a hero. What does the Great Golden Dragon think of  _ my  _ war?”

Yzako didn’t want to talk about this with him. It screamed  _ trap,  _ and it felt like if she put so much as one toe out of line, it could spell doom. Suddenly, dozing off in the throne room wasn’t sounding so bad, and she found herself wishing that she could go back to having a normal,  _ boring  _ day. 

“I think that we both know the war isn’t just about sharing prosperity.” She said bravely, egged on by the feeling of Kul’s hot breath on her back. 

Ozai frowned. “And what makes you say something so bold, Yzako?”

“Sharing wealth and prosperity wouldn’t begin with genocide, would it?”

His mouth pressed into a thin line. “Perhaps it wouldn’t. The Air Nomads were wiped out by my grandfather after Avatar Roku’s death, and Sozin nearly drove himself mad hunting for the next avatar in his last years, as he believed the avatar was the only person who could stand in the way of our war. He was correct, of course; we’ve seen that firsthand, for ourselves. Though we needn’t worry about our little airbender friend anymore, thanks to Prince Zuko.”

“And you truly believe no one else could possibly stop us from winning?” Yzako asked, trying to seem as passive and agreeable as possible. The silver lining to this whole situation was that Ozai was talking, and if nothing else, maybe she could get something good out of him. 

The Fire Lord threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Who would dare stand against  _ me?  _ The avatar is dead. My traitorous brother is in prison. Ba Sing Se has fallen, and the Earth Kingdom is practically ours. No, no, Yzako; all that remains between me and absolute victory is a handful of resistance forces, and the Northern Water Tribe fleet. When Sozin’s Comet comes at the end of summer, we will crush any who dares oppose us.”

“What about the remaining Earth Kingdom forces?” Yzako asked. “They didn’t all just sit down and give up when Ba Sing Se was taken.”

“They are disorganized. Stubborn, but disorganized. With the power of the comet, we will make quick work of destroying them.”

“And then what?”

Ozai turned to look at her. “You ask of my plans after the war?”

“Yes. When the Fire Nation has complete control, what will that look like?” Yzako asked, looking up at him. “How will you share this  _ greatness  _ with the world?”

“Fire Nation culture will spread across the land. This world will be born anew, and rise from its own ashes.”

Yzako was skeptical. When he phrased it like that, it sounded almost reasonable, but she had witnessed his cruelty firsthand enough times to know that Ozai was fully aware of what he was doing.  _ Sharing culture  _ was an interesting way to describe total domination. It was...propaganda, she supposed, that every Fire Nation citizen had been told day after day. She hadn’t gone to any kind of school, but she could imagine that children were taught only about the greatness of the Fire Lords who led the country and never gave a second thought as to why they were waging a war. Shit, the fighting had been going on for so long that it had become normal, and in places where nobody had to worry about suddenly becoming a refugee, it was just a distant, constant reality. 

“And what about the other nations?” Yzako asked. “Fire is the superior element. Obviously. But when we win the war, what will happen to earth and waterbenders?”

“They will bow down and then make themselves useful, or they will perish.” Ozai sneered. His voice seemed harsh in such a beautiful garden setting, much more appropriate for the throne room. “I have no time for those who do not serve a purpose. In my new world, Fire will be recognized as the supreme force, and I will have complete control. Any who oppose me will be dealt with swiftly.”

She swallowed hard. “Of course, Fire Lord.”

“I am growing so close to victory I can almost taste it.” He said. “I will truly go down in history as the most powerful Fire Lord to ever hold the throne after I’ve won a war that has gone on for a century. In another hundred years, they will  _ still  _ be writing of my great successes.”

“And that’s what you want? To be remembered?”

“Don’t you, Golden Dragon?” He glanced down at her. “Is life worth living, if what you do will never be recognized?” He shook his head. “A simple,  _ humble  _ life is not for people like us.”

“People like us?” She raised an eyebrow. 

“I see it in your eyes. You hunger for glory, same as I do. You desire the warmth of flames and the scent of smoke to surround you. We are very much the same, you and I; two proud, strong-willed firebenders focused on winning the war and bringing glory to our names.”

Yzako didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t anything like Ozai, who killed ruthlessly and coldheartedly, without an ounce of remorse or any second thoughts. He was a warmonger, and she absolutely  _ wasn’t _ . There was no way she was similar to him, when all she wanted was her freedom, and the feeling of the sun on her back and the wind in her hair. How could he even say something like that? Did he actually think that she was a monster like him?

“Come now, don’t be shy about it.” Ozai rolled his eyes. “We’re both willing to do whatever it takes to get what we want. That is why I value you so highly, Yzako; I know that you understand what it is like to feel that incessant drive forward, to want to seize power however possible.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Yzako asked, trying to stay calm as she walked at his side. “You were born with power. You inherited the throne. What was there to seize?”

“I was born the  _ second _ son of Fire Lord Azulon.” Ozai sneered. “The throne was to be inherited by my older brother, as tradition dictates.”

“But didn’t Azulon choose to give it to you instead?”

“ _ Choose _ is not the word I would use first, but yes.” his sneer turned into something more akin to a smirk. “Iroh showed that he was weak. After his son’s death at Ba Sing Se, he all but gave up on life. The sight of a future Fire Lord weeping so openly was utterly pathetic, and I saw my opportunity to change our father’s mind on which of his sons should be given all the power in the world, and which should sit idly and watch.”

Kul growled quietly at the Fire Lord’s tone. Yzako didn’t like how he was speaking about Iroh either, anger flaring up in her chest in a way she hadn’t felt in weeks or maybe even months. She knew how much Ozai hated his brother, and just like everyone else, he thought Iroh was a foolish old man...but that didn’t mean he had to say it out loud. 

“So how did you do it?” she asked. 

Ozai chuckled. “See? You are curious, because you feel similarly.”

“I’m only curious for the sake of curiosity, Fire Lord.”

“Do not forget that you were more than willing to kill your  _ beloved _ Prince Zuko for the chance at freedom.” 

“Well, he wasn’t beloved at the time.” she grit her teeth together. 

The Fire Lord let out a loud laugh. “You are  _ most  _ amusing when you want to be, dragon. You really wish to hear the tale of how I took the throne?”

“I do.”

“After Lu Ten’s death, Iroh was in shambles. I went to Fire Lord Azulon, imploring him to give  _ me _ the throne I so deserved.” Ozai paused in front of a blooming plant, reaching out to run his fingers over the petals of one of its red flowers. “My father grew angry with me for trying to usurp Iroh while he grieved, but agreed to give me the throne on the condition that I, too, experience the  _ pain _ of losing a son.”

Yzako’s nostrils flared angrily. How many times had he tried to kill Zuko, exactly? No wonder the prince had inner turmoil. 

Ozai picked the flower, turning it in his fingers as if he was admiring it. “Azulon declared that I would have to kill Zuko, and in return, I would be guaranteed the throne when my father passed. I was ready to do it, of course, but Zuko’s mother abhorred the idea.”

Before she could catch herself, she was rolling her eyes. “Can’t imagine why.” 

Ozai glared at her. “Watch your tone, Yzako.”

“I only meant that I can’t imagine a mother wanting her husband to kill her son. It makes sense that she wouldn't allow it.”

“She had no real say in what I chose to do. Ursa was never that important.” Ozai said haughtily. 

“It seems that she kept you from killing Zuko, though.”

He closed his fist around the flower angrily. “You’re speaking very  _ boldly _ today, Yzako. You should consider yourself very lucky.”

“Why?” she tilted her head up, jutting her chin out slightly in a tiny act of defiance. Knowing that Kul was right behind her was egging her on, and while her ankle was still mildly sore from Ozai’s burn, the pain had faded enough that she was practically forgetting about it. 

“As I have said, I consider you to be  _ valuable. _ You play an important role in this war, and I cannot afford to damage or lose you before we’ve seen it through.” he opened his fist, revealing a sad, crushed little flower. “In addition to that, Prince Zuko has proven himself to be worthy of honor once again. I suppose it  _ is _ a good thing I didn’t do away with him when I had the chance.”

Yzako snorted angrily, a little steam leaving her nose. “Funny how these things can work out.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“So what happened to Fire Lord Azulon? You clearly took the throne, and Zuko clearly isn’t dead.”

“Ursa devised a plan that would ensure Zuko’s safety, and give me what I wanted.” his harsh expression suddenly seemed like it wasn’t directed at her anymore, his gaze shifting to the flower in his hand. “I only tell you this because as my Golden Dragon, you have become one of my most trusted companions as of late. You understand the desire to get what you want, and you, too, have the power to do so.”

Yzako stared at him. “What did you do to your father?”

“ _ I _ did nothing but mourn the loss of Fire Lord Azulon.” Ozai said, a cruel glint in his eye. “He was frail and old at the time of his death, and no one bat an eye when he passed of... _ natural _ causes. Ursa, of course, had to flee the palace. Who knows where she is now. Lost somewhere, or dead, perhaps, but it’s of no matter; she served her purpose.”

Somehow, Yzako wasn’t overly surprised to learn that Ozai had conspired to kill his father. She was more surprised that he was willing to tell her outright. When exactly had he decided that he trusted her so much? When she had come back from Ember Island without running away? When she had taken Ba Sing Se? Or was it when he had made up his mind that Min wasn’t trying to spy on him, even though he was incorrect in assuming that she was too stupid to know what espionage was? 

No matter the case, Yzako wasn’t about to look a gift ostrich horse in the mouth. She didn’t know what to do or if she could even stop the war, but with the Day of Black Sun coming up, she was beginning to hope that she might get a chance to speak to the avatar, or at least his friends. At the very least, maybe she could make sure that they didn’t all die when they tried to invade. 

“I’m honored to have earned your trust, Fire Lord.” she said, pushing her anger back down. 

“Of course you are, Yzako. It is the highest honor one can hope to deserve.” the flower in his hand burst into flames, burning away quickly. “Let us return to the throne room now. I’m glad we took the opportunity to stretch our legs.”

“Of course, Fire Lord.”

She followed him back inside, walking in silence. Was this another one of his stupid tests? Had he been waiting to see if she would attack him or speak out more? Or was he actually just having a conversation with her, like a normal person would? Yzako couldn’t tell. Ozai had made her so paranoid that she had no idea what was real and what she was only anticipating, and as she sat back down in front of the throne, her mind was racing with thoughts of what had just occurred. It felt so out of character for Ozai to go out into the gardens and then talk about a family secret like that. Why had he done it? There had to be a reason. 

When she finally asked about it, just before leaving the throne room, she wasn’t too pleased with the answer. 

“Oh, Yzako.” Ozai chuckled. “You still don’t want to admit it, do you? You are a ruthless warrior at your core. We’ve both seen it. I know I can trust you with the knowledge I have given you today, because I know you would have done the same thing in my position. You may not want to admit it, but I know what you are inside.”

“A monster?” she asked. 

“Something of the sort, perhaps.” he waved her off. “Now, go. I’m sure Zuko is waiting for you somewhere.”

“Yes, Fire Lord.” she sighed, bending at the waist in a bow. 

“Oh, and do prepare yourself for the all-day war meeting I’ve scheduled. It’s approaching quickly, and it is of the utmost importance that we are all well resting and thinking clearly while we discuss the climax of this war.”

“Of course, Fire Lord.” Yzako said curtly, turning to leave. 

As soon as she left the room, her shoulder sagged. Kul gave her a nudge, shoving her along the corridor towards her room as if he wanted to get there as quickly as possible. She did, too; what had started out as a boring day had ended up more emotionally exhausting than she cared to admit. 

“You look terrible.” a voice interrupted her walking, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

Azula was leaning against a pillar, looking at her with a smug expression. Her hair was down, something Yzako wasn’t used to seeing, her face free of any of her signature makeup. She almost looked like a normal person, and it was almost unsettling. 

“Thanks.” Yzako drawled sarcastically. 

“I was just on my way to the palace spa. Why don’t you join me?” Azula asked, straightening up. “You look like you could use it.”

“Why would I go to the spa when I have my own bathing room?” 

“Fine, don’t spend valuable bonding time with your future sister-in-law.” Azula shrugged. “See if I care.”

“I know you don’t.”

“That’s true. But the spa is big enough for Kul to take a bath, as well.”

Yzako stared. Why was everyone behaving so strangely today? Azula hadn’t spoken to her this nicely since they were on Ember Island and struck up their little temporary truce. 

“Are you still jealous that I spend so much time being bored in the throne room while you have nothing to do all day? Is that what this is about?” she asked, joining the princess anyway. 

Anger flashed in Azula’s eyes for a moment, telling Yzako that she was correct. “No!”

She smirked. “Alright. But it’s okay to admit, you know.”

“I would  _ never _ be jealous of  _ you. _ ” the princess sneered as they turned a corner. 

“I would trade places with you, if I could. The throne room is  _ painfully _ boring.” Yzako rolled her eyes. 

Azula was fuming. “Let’s speak about something else. Or, better yet, let’s not speak at all.”

Kul made a deep laughing sound in his throat as he walked behind them, and Yzako had to hide her own chuckle. Azula was getting more and more easy to upset lately, as if she were beginning to unravel. It was entertaining to watch, but the princess was also correct in that she was going to be Yzako’s family one day, and that meant that they might have to  _ actually _ get along in the future. 

Besides, a spa visit didn’t sound too bad, especially after her stressful conversation with Ozai. 

  
  
  


\---

  
  
  


Zuko’s day started like any other. Yzako was already gone, off to sit around in the throne room like the perfect little dragon she was, leaving the prince alone with his servants. They offered him a fresh platter of fruit for breakfast, tried to wash his feet for him, offered him head massages and hot towels...but he didn’t care for any of it. With Yzako gone, he had nothing to  _ do, _ and once he was dressed and ready to be seen outside his own chambers, he found himself wandering to see the girls from Ba Sing Se. 

“Ooh, look who’s here!” Chun exclaimed as she answered the knock at their door. 

“Is it a handsome prince, coming to sweep me off my feet?” Fen’s face popped up under her arm. 

“It’s a handsome prince hoping for some light conversation and morning tea.” Zuko said, shooting them a mild glare. “That’s  _ it. _ Nothing more.”

“One of these days, you’ll be tempted.” Chun opened the door and stepped back so he could enter the room. 

“I’m not so sure about that.” He said flatly. 

“Prince Zuko, what a surprise,” Min turned to face him. She and Zhang were sitting on their beds, combing out their hair. It seemed Zuko had caught them as they were still getting ready for their day, and he almost felt a little bad about it.

Almost.

“Isn’t it a bit early for tea?” Zhang asked smoothly. 

“He clearly doesn’t actually want to have any,” Fen said.

“He didn’t even bring a servant with him!” Chun agreed.

“What? I do!” Zuko protested. “I just...look, I don’t have anything else to do today, and I can only wander the palace so much before I get bored.”

“Where’s Yzako?” Min asked.

“In the throne room, as usual.” Zuko huffed. “She left before I woke up.”

“Do I detect a hint of contemptment?” Zhang asked. 

“Yeah, Zuko,” Fen piped up. “You sound jealous!”

He sat down on the nearest bed. “Maybe I am. I can’t tell...I wish  _ I _ was the one sitting in the throne room with my father, hearing out generals and advisors and ministers and actually  _ doing _ something, instead of just wandering the palace all day.”

“Yeah, but you get to enjoy yourself more this way,” Chun shrugged. “Sitting around in that creepy throne room for hours at a time doesn’t sound fun.”

“It doesn’t have to be  _ fun. _ As the crown prince, I should be learning how to rule, not leisuring constantly.”

“Ah, so you’re bored  _ and _ jealous.” Min said. 

“No!” Zuko huffed. “...Maybe.”

“Well, that all-day war meeting coming up will give you something to do,” Chun said. 

He turned to glare at her. “What war meeting?”

“Weren’t you invited?” Fen asked. “All the generals and admirals are talking about it. It sounds absolutely  _ boring _ and exactly what you want.”

Zuko’s face twisted angrily. “No, I  _ wasn’t _ invited.”

“Oh,” Fen frowned. 

“We thought you knew,” Chun’s expression mirrored hers. 

Of course they did. Everyone  _ always  _ assumed he was in his father’s good graces, that he was privy to everything that was going on in the palace. The truth was, he was left out of everything, and it was only getting worse and worse as the Day of Black Sun approached. Hearing that there was something as big as an  _ all-day _ war meeting coming up, and having to hear it from  _ Chun and Fen _ instead of a royal courier or the Fire Lord himself, was only making Zuko feel worse and more insecure.

“I need to find Azula.” he growled, standing once more and heading for the door only minutes after he had entered the room. 

The girls frowned after him, watching him leave in a huff. He didn’t give them so much as a goodbye, stalking through the corridors until he reached his sisters chambers. He found them empty, but a servant pointed him in the direction of the royal spa, claiming that the princess had said something about needing some pampering and relaxation, and that she could most likely be found there. The servant was right, thankfully, but what Zuko  _ didn’t _ expect to see when he stepped into the luxurious room was the looping body of a sleepy dragon. 

Kul lifted his head when the prince entered, trilling happily. He was laying on the warm stone floor, girls massaging his shoulders and hips while others brushed through the long fur on his tail. Zuko approached, climbing over him to stand before the stone basin in the center of the room, where he could see Azula reclining on a red pillow. She was wearing a red and gold robe, her hands clasped in her lap in the most relaxed way he had ever seen. Her hair was laid out behind her on the stone, water running out of the wall to soak it as two maids washed her black tresses. 

“Hello, Zu Zu,” she said without looking up. “If you’ve come for a royal hair combing, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.”

“So there’s a big war meeting coming up, huh?” he hissed. “And apparently I’m not welcome there.”

“What do you mean?” Azula asked calmly. “Of course you’re welcome there.”

“Oh yeah?” Zuko was simmering. “I guess that’s why no one bothered to tell me about it.”

“Oh, Zuko. Don’t be so dramatic.” Azula finally opened her eyes to look at him. “I’m certain Dad wants you there. You probably just weren’t invited because it’s so  _ obvious _ that you’re supposed to be there.”

“Well...were  _ you _ invited?” Zuko asked.

“Of course. I’m the princess.”

“And I’m the  _ prince!” _

“Exactly. So stop acting like a paranoid child. Just go to the meeting.”

“Forget it.” he sneered. “I’m not going.”

He heard Azula scoff quietly as he turned to leave, but he had no intention of commenting on it. He was furious, and stubborn, and he had made up his mind. She could call him a child as she wanted, but it wasn’t going to change the fact that he was clearly being snubbed by the Fire Lord. 

As he reached to slide the door open, however, a voice made him pause. 

“Zuko, where are you going?” 

He turned back around to see Yzako entering from a side door, her hair wrapped up in a soft towel, her body wrapped in a golden bathrobe. At the sight of her, some of his anger melted away, and he felt himself relaxing slightly. 

“Zu Zu is upset that he didn’t receive a formal invitation to the war meeting.” Azula said, closing her eyes and settling her head back into the water. 

“I didn’t, either,” Yzako shrugged, crossing the room to see Zuko. 

“Why aren’t you in the throne room?” he huffed, greeting her with a kiss anyway. 

“I...got the rest of the day off,” she said, frowning as she recalled the strangeness of her conversation with Ozai. “But really, go to the meeting. You’re the crown prince. I’m pretty sure your presence is important.”

“No. I made up my mind. I’m not going.” he turned to the door once more, pausing only to glance over his shoulder. “I’ll have dinner brought in soon. Come eat with me?”

“Okay,” Yzako sighed, watching him go. He was being bullheaded, probably on the verge of throwing an angry tantrum, and there wasn’t much she could do if he wanted to blow off some steam elsewhere. 

“How ridiculous,” Azula commented. “It’s almost as if he doesn’t  _ want  _ to be the crown prince.”

“What makes you say that?” Yzako asked, sitting down on a cushion. 

“He doesn’t seem to be taking this very seriously. I mean, really, he thinks our father doesn’t want him at that meeting? The Fire Lord restored his honor for him. That should be enough to convince Zu Zu that he’s a part of this family again.” she shrugged. “I suppose there’s not much to be done about it, though. He’ll see how silly he’s behaving soon enough.”

“Yeah,” Yzako frowned, looking at the door. “I guess he will.”


	75. The War Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to update before the new year!! Someone congratulate me lol

On the day of the big war meeting, Zuko was moping. He was sitting in his room, melodramatically draped across a fancy new sofa Yzako had demanded they purchase a few days earlier, waiting for Min to pour tea for the two of them. He had invited her to keep him company after Yzako had gotten dressed and left for the big event, hoping that she would keep him distracted enough that he wouldn’t completely lose it, but so far, she seemed determined to make him face his problems rather than hide from them. 

Min glanced up at him every few seconds, growing more and more concerned when he kept  _ not moving.  _ If she wasn’t the one having to deal with him, she would have found his behavior funny, but now, it was more annoying than anything else.

“Zuko, come on,” she sighed, shoving a teacup towards him. “Is it really that big a deal to not be invited to some stuffy war meeting?”

“Yes,” he snapped, sitting up to take it from her. 

“I can’t imagine it’s very fun.”

“That doesn’t matter.” he looked down at the piping hot tea. “It isn’t supposed to be  _ fun.” _

“Wouldn’t you rather go take a stroll through the gardens or something?” she asked, sipping her own tea. 

“No.” he huffed. “I would  _ rather _ be treated like a crown prince, because that’s what I  _ am. _ I even have Sozin’s old crown now, and it doesn’t even mean anything.”

“What’s that?” she tilted her head, intrigued. 

“This.” he waved towards the metal piece securing his topknot. “It was a long lost royal artifact. Fire Lord Sozin gave it to Avatar Roku.”

“They were friends?” Min asked. 

“Apparently they were  _ best _ friends.”

“If it was lost, then how did you find it?”

“My uncle gave it to me.”

“Aha! So you’ve seen him recently?” she grinned.

“Don’t be so loud.” he rolled his eyes. “But...yes. It’s been a while, but...he finally spoke to me again, and as happy as I am about that, it’s making me too conflicted.”

“Conflicted how?”

He glared at her. “You’re too easy to talk to. I shouldn’t even be saying any of this.”

“Well, it’s my area of expertise.” she snorted a laugh. “I’m good at getting men to relax and say things they wouldn’t normally trust anyone with. Does it make you uncomfortable? Because it seems like you have a lot you need to get off your chest.”

Zuko frowned. “I don’t want to say anything that would jeopardize your safety.”

Min stared at him. She wanted to laugh, because oh, if he only  _ knew _ how much she jeopardized her own safety every time she squeezed confidential information out of someone, but the sad look in his eyes kept her quiet. She wanted to prod for more, to get him to talk so that he would feel better and she could get to the root of his conflict, but before she could, there was a frantic knock at the door. 

A servant ran in, kneeling before the prince. “Prince Zuko, everyone’s waiting for you.”

“What?” Zuko stood, looking down at the man. 

“The high admirals, high generals, the war ministers, the princess, and the Golden Dragon have all arrived. You’re the only person missing.”

“My father wants me at the meeting?” Zuko asked. 

“The Fire Lord said he would not start until you arrived, sir,” the servant said, looking up. 

For a moment, Zuko didn’t know how to feel. He had steeled himself, planning to spend the day showing everyone just how displeased he was, but now...he was happy. A small smile graced his features, and with a glance back at Min, he nodded to the servant and the two of them were off. 

As he walked down the hall, another servant appeared, running after them with Zuko’s armor in his hands. The prince raised his arms, not slowing his pace, staring forward as leather straps were buckled and the armor was secured. He hadn’t worn it in what felt like forever, but it fit just how he remembered. It reminded him of when he first met Yzako, when he would wear armor every day while they chased the avatar across the world. Back then, he had only been in charge of a small ship with a ragtag crew, but now, he was very nearly in charge of an entire  _ country. _ He had come so far, regained his honor and throne, and he wanted Yzako to be able to see that. 

Excitement and fear washed over him as the servants held back, bowing in tandem as the prince stood before the throne room doors. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for his first war meeting since the one that had gotten him banished and earned him his scar, and after a tense moment, he pushed the doors open and strode inside. 

A long, low table sat before the throne, generals and admirals and ministers all sitting cross-legged on the floor around it. They looked up at his entrance, glancing at each other warily. Many of them remembered the last time the prince had attended a meeting like this, having witnessed firsthand the outburst that had angered the Fire Lord enough to banish his son, and they were surprised to see Zuko back in the throne room again. They would never dare say anything about it, though, not with so many royal eyes on them, and  _ especially _ not with that big golden dragon sitting in the fires around the throne. 

Kul somehow looked more imposing than ever, his tusks sharp as they jutted out from his mouth, his eyes seeming to glare down at the humans in the room. If Zuko didn’t know any better, he would have been terrified, but the sight of the dragon was more calming than anything else. Yzako’s gaze was also harsh, but he recognized the tiniest hint of a smile on her face as he approached the throne. He almost couldn’t tear his gaze away from her; she was in her usual spot, dressed in new gold and red silks from Madame Liu and Chu Hua. She was wearing her dragon crown, half of her hair perfectly gathered in a neat topknot while the rest fell behind her shoulders. There was even makeup on her face, her lips red like Azula’s, her upper lid accentuated with a sweeping line of black. She looked fearsome and noble, sitting unnaturally still as she regarded Zuko with those yellow cat eyes of hers. 

“Welcome, Prince Zuko,” Ozai said, breaking the silence. “We waited for you.”

The Fire Lord gestured to a seat at his right side, and without a moment’s hesitation, Zuko climbed the steps to the throne, bowed, and sat down next to his father. With Azula on the Fire Lord’s other side, the royal family was finally complete, all attending a war meeting together for the first time in years. 

Ozai nodded to his son before turning to look down at the men gathered before him. “General Shinu, your report.”

A middle aged man with dark brown hair and thick lambchops that reminded Yzako far too much of Zhao stood up. “Thank you, sir. Ba Sing Se is still under our control; however, earthbender rebellions have prevented us from achieving total victory in the Earth Kingdom.”

Yzako’s eyes narrowed slightly. Good. It made sense that they would be resisting control. 

“What is your recommendation?” Ozai asked. 

“Our army is spread too thin, but once the eclipse is over and the invasion defeated, we should transfer more domestic forces into the Earth Kingdom.” Shinu said. 

“Hmm.” Ozai hummed to himself, looking to Zuko. “Prince Zuko, you’ve been among the Earth Kingdom commoners. Do you think that adding more troops will stop these rebellions?”

Zuko looked up at his father for a moment, then faced the room. “The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong. They can endure anything as long as they have hope.”

“Yes, you’re right…” Ozai said, mulling the prince’s words over. “We need to destroy their hope.”

“Well, that’s not exactly what I--”

“I think you should take their precious  _ hope _ and the rest of their land and burn it all to the ground.” Azula huffed, crossing her arms.

“Yes, yes, you’re right, Azula.” Yzako could hear the smile in Ozai’s voice as he stood. “Sozin’s comet is almost upon us, and on that day it will endow us with the power of a thousand suns. No bender will stand a  _ chance _ against us.”

“What are you suggesting, sir?” General Shinu asked. 

“When the comet last came, my grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, used it to wipe out the Air Nomads. Now, I will use its power to end the Earth Kingdom,  _ permanently.” _

Yzako’s eyes widened in alarm, and at the feeling of Ozai’s hand on her shoulder, she jumped. 

“Yzako destroyed all of Ba Sing Se on her own, by raining flames down from above.” the Fire Lord let her go, walking around her to approach the map laid out between the generals. “From our new airships, we will do the same, mimicking the fire of a dragon...a fire that will destroy  _ everything,  _ and out of the ashes, a new world will be born, a world in which  _ all _ the lands are Fire Nation, and  _ I _ am the supreme ruler of  _ everything. _ ”

The men around the strategy table all clapped, but Yzako couldn’t bring herself to move or even speak. Ozai’s plan was horrifying, to say the least, and it sounded like he had come up with it all thanks to  _ her. _

“Sir, where will the Golden Dragon be on the day of the comet?” an admiral asked. 

“Yzako will be with me, heading the airship assault.” Ozai folded his hands behind his back as he looked down at the map of the Earth Kingdom. “By the end of the comet’s passing, we will have complete control over the earthbenders, and what remains of the Northern Water Tribe will  _ melt _ .”

“Of course, Fire Lord.” the admiral said, bowing his head. 

Up in his spot next to the throne, Zuko’s heart was racing. He almost couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Destroying the  _ entire _ Earth Kingdom? Burning it all to the ground? He thought of people like Lee and his family, and all of the refugees he had met in Ba Sing Se. They barely had anything in the first place, and if they were still alive, they were about to have their entire world torn apart. 

He wanted to speak up, to say something about how nightmarish and inhumane his father’s plan was, but the dull pain of his scar reminded him what happened the last time he spoke out in a war meeting. No one else seemed bothered by Ozai’s words, and Azula was even smirking at the sound of them. Kul was quiet, Yzako was quiet, the war council was pleased...not a single person was willing to tell the Fire Lord that he was a monster. Was it out of fear, like it was for Zuko? Or did they all really agree with this? 

After the meeting, he finally got a chance to find out. 

Yzako and Kul were marching down the corridor towards their room, Zuko jogging to keep up. He was nearly knocked over by the dragon’s legs as he tried to reach Yzako, calling after her desperately. She was on a mission, moving quickly and with purpose, scaring servants out of the way as she passed them. 

“Yzako, wait!” Zuko finally caught her arm. “What are you doing?”

“Not here.” she growled, trying to wrench herself away for a moment before thinking better of it and instead looping her arm through his to drag him along. 

“Why are you in such a hurry?” he asked. 

“ _ Not here.”  _ she repeated, continuing on until she reached their chambers. She pushed the door open, surprising Min, who was still sitting on the little red sofa and nibbling on a fruit tart. 

“How’d it go?” she asked, jumping to her feet when she saw how flustered Yzako was. 

“This is bad,” the Golden Dragon said, letting go of Zuko. “Close the door.”

The prince waited for Kul to squeeze into the room before closing it, looking back at Yzako with a puzzled expression. She was beginning to pace, chewing on one of her claws in agitation. Her calm facade from the war meeting had disappeared, leaving an anxious mess in its wake, her eyes darting around constantly as she thought. 

“Are you sure you want to talk about this now?” Min asked, glancing at Zuko. 

The prince narrowed his eyes. What was that supposed to mean? Were they trying to hide things from him?

“The Fire Lord is going to use his new fleet of airships to raze the Earth Kingdom,” Yzako said quickly, ignoring her. “He wants  _ me _ to head them.”

Min sat back down on the sofa as if her legs couldn’t hold her up anymore. “On the day of the comet?”

Yzako nodded, not looking at her. Panic was rising in her voice when she spoke again. “It’s  _ my  _ fault. He’s basing it around how  _ I _ destroyed Ba Sing Se.”

Zuko looked down at the floor, feeling something like shame inside of him. He wished he had said something, for his own peace of mind. Instead, he would have to live with the fact that he had sat idly by while his father planned a genocide. 

“There’s nothing we can do.” Zuko said. “My father made up his mind. The war will end with Sozin’s Comet.”

Yzako turned on him angrily. “How can you say that?”

He looked up at her in surprise. “What?”

“How can you act like there’s nothing we can do?” 

“Yzako,” Min said gently. “This isn’t the time--”

“Iroh wouldn’t like your attitude,” Yzako snapped at Zuko, ignoring her friend.

Zuko looked shocked. “Excuse me?”

“Am I wrong?” she challenged. 

“Well, what do you want from me?” he raised his voice angrily. “There’s nothing I can do about it!”

“It’s  _ wrong _ and you know it is!”

“I didn’t see  _ you _ speaking out against the Fire Lord. Oh, wait, are you too  _ scared _ of being on the receiving end of his wrath?” Zuko snarled, pointing at his own face. 

She snorted angrily, smoke puffing out of her nostrils. “You calling me a coward?”

“Maybe I am!”

Min was looking back and forth between them with wide eyes. She had never seen them fight like that, and Yzako was practically bristling. She was honestly impressed that Zuko was standing his ground against her, his fists clenched at his sides while his nostrils flared. He was being brave, far braver than most people would be while faced with an angry dragon, and it was clear that the two of them were evenly matched. 

While Min didn’t know  _ exactly  _ what Ozai had said in the war meeting, she could guess that the details of his plan were gruesome, and it seemed like Yzako was rightfully upset about all of it. She was pacing back and forth as if she needed to keep moving, her hands shaking slightly. Min had never seen her so panicked, and it was unsettling to be reminded that Yzako didn’t always have everything under control. 

“Oh, so what? You think I can just stand up in a war meeting and tell the Fire Lord that I hate his idea?” She snapped at Zuko. “We  _ both  _ know that doesn’t end well.”

Zuko’s eyes were narrowed dangerously. “Oh, I  _ know.  _ Trust me,  _ I know.” _

“Look, fighting isn’t going to solve anything.” Min spike up, preferring not to get caught in the middle of a duel. 

“It might!” Yzako growled.

“Come on, don’t be such hotheads.” She rolled her eyes. 

“We’re firebenders. It’s in our nature.” Zuko said, lip drawn up in a sneer. 

“Fine. I’m going to go tell the girls about Ozai’s plan. Go ahead and kill each other.” Min stood, heading for the door. She knew the two of them would never do serious damage, and if things escalated enough, they always had their babysitter of a dragon to keep them in line. She would be of much more use updating everyone else while Zuko and Yzako screamed until they got tired.

Kul also took his leave, grumbling and growling and shooting warning glares at Zuko before he faded from sight. He was tired and ready to take a nap, and he didn’t particularly feel like sticking around while the humans screamed at each other.

“What’s your deal today?” Yzako snapped at Zuko. 

“ _ My  _ deal? What’s  _ yours?”  _ Zuko asked. “You're yelling at me about things I can’t control!”

“And you’ve been acting like a bratty child.” She hissed. 

“What?” He snarled.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. You’ve been jealous and grumpy about how much your father calls on me.” Yzako huffed. “As if it’s  _ my  _ fault. You’re letting your daddy issues get in the way of  _ us.” _

“I am not!” Zuko yelled. 

“Then what’s your deal?” She challenged. “Something’s bothering you.”

He glared at her for a long moment before his harsh expression began melting. “My  _ deal  _ is that you’re always gone. We barely spend time together, and...and I miss you while you’re in the throne room.”

Yzako felt her defenses lowering. “Zuko...I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.” He grumbled, looking down. “I shouldn’t be upset. You have important jobs to do and I have to respect that. It’s just...it seems like you spend the entire day with my father, and then you’re either gone in the evenings or meditating. How am I supposed to court you and make you happy if I can’t even spend time with you?”

Yzako was shocked. She knew she had been neglecting him slightly, but it wasn’t because she  _ wanted  _ to. The Fire Lord was a stressful master to serve under, and organizing her own little spy ring in her free time didn’t leave her with much energy to spend with her prince. She had been so focused on everything that she stopped considering how it would all make him feel, and now, looking at his sad amber eyes, her heart was twisting painfully. 

“I’m sorry, Zuko.” She sighed. “I...should have considered how busy I’ve been.”

“Why does he want  _ you  _ to serve in the throne room so much?” Zuko grumbled as he sat on the edge of their bed. “I’m the prince. I should be the one sitting at his side.”

Yzako frowned. “It isn’t fun. The throne room is boring and uncomfortable. I doze off most of the time because I have to just sit there and listen to advisors.”

“But if I’m going to become Fire Lord one day, I need to learn how to run the nation!” Zuko snapped. “Instead, my father keeps choosing  _ you  _ to sit with him, his little pet dragon. You’re his perfect,  _ golden _ girl. He doesn’t even favor Azula over you anymore.  _ We’re _ his children, and  _ I’m  _ the crown prince. This war meeting was the first thing he’s actually invited me to.”

She sat next to him. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep it up. I would trade with you if I could.”

“What?” He looked over at her. “What are you talking about?”

“All of it. It feels  _ wrong. _ I’m trying to behave so that he doesn’t have a reason to hurt anyone, but I can’t keep sitting by and letting him control me like this.” Yzako shook her head, looking down at her hands as they rested in her lap. “The other day, he asked me to walk in the gardens with him. He told me that he trusts me because he and I are the  _ same.” _

“The same how?” Zuko frowned. 

She chewed at her lip nervously, as if she was trying to decide what to say and how to say it. “Ruthless, selfish monsters who will do anything to get what we want.”

He was quiet for a second, trying to understand her words. “Yzako, that isn’t true and you know it.” 

“But I don’t know it.”

“Why?”

She was quiet for a long moment. “Because I don’t know if I’m a good person or not.”

All of Zuko’s anger was suddenly melting away. He could never stay mad at her, no matter how quick his temper was, but he  _ especially _ couldn’t keep it up now. “Of course you are.”

“How can you just say that so easily?” she stood again, pacing a few steps away. “After everything I’ve done, what Ozai was saying made too much  _ sense.  _ I’m trying to be a good person, I  _ am, _ but I feel like I don’t know how to do that and still serve the Fire Nation like I’m supposed to.”

Zuko was silent. Her words were hitting too close to home. They resonated with him too well, echoing his own thoughts right back at him. He stared at his lap, face set in a deep frown. It all felt wrong, to be following his father into the climax of this war, and the more he mulled it over, the more horrified he became.

“We’ll be okay.” he finally said, trying to convince himself more than anything. 

“Yeah.” Yzako sighed. “I hope so.”

“Hey.” he reached for her hand, holding it gently. “Let’s not think about it anymore. Let’s just...relax.”

She let him pull her forward until she was standing between his legs. “I think I’d like that. I need some stress relief after all of this.”

Zuko smiled up at her. “I think I can handle that.”

Yzako leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Then why don’t you show me, My Prince?”

His smile widened into a grin and soon, they were undressing each other, leaving silk and armor behind on the floor as they crawled into bed together. It felt like it had been forever since Zuko’s hands slid over Yzako’s skin, but everything was familiar. When his fingers dipped between her thighs, her breath hitched, and when they plunged into her, she let out a low moan that had Zuko hungry for more. 

He ate her out like it was his last meal, sucking and playing with her clit before swiping his tongue along her cunt. When her thighs squeezed around his head, he knew he was doing a good job, and when she started gasping and whining above him, he could tell that she had found her release. He was more than happy to give her more head and make her cum over and over until she was too exhausted to do it again, but he couldn’t ignore how hard he was. 

Yzako sat up, catching her breath, and as soon as she caught sight of the growing problem between his legs, she grinned. She leaned forward, holding the base of his cock with one hand while she wrapped her lips around the head, sucking greedily. His hand tangled in her hair, grabbing a fistful as he guided her up and down...not that she needed the help. She was an expert at this point, and she knew exactly what she needed to do to drive him wild. 

“Yzako,” he growled when he had nearly been pushed to the edge. 

“Hm?” she hummed around him, looking up.

“Fuck, you look so good with my cock in your mouth,” he groaned. 

She leaned back, pulling off of him, a little string of saliva staying behind. “I think I look even better with it inside of me…”

“I couldn’t agree more.” he pushed her back down onto the bed, holding himself above her. 

He took her lips in his as he rolled his hips forward, enjoying the way she moaned into his kiss. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she pushed him deeper into herself, her gasps growing louder and louder as his thrusts sped up. The room was filled with the sounds of heavy breaths and the slap of skin against skin, the air hot and heavy as Yzako and Zuko both exhaled steam and smoke into each other’s faces. 

“Fuck,” Zuko panted, leaning his forehead against hers. “ _ Fuck, _ I’m gonna--”

“ _ Please _ ,” she moaned in his ear, catching him in a kiss. 

He couldn’t help himself. She felt too  _ perfect, _ her walls squeezing him until he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He buried himself inside of her, thrusting in deep and hard as he came. She sighed happily, loosening her grip on him as he collapsed on top of her in a sweaty mess of tangled limbs. 

Zuko picked his head up, laughing breathlessly as he kissed her cheek. “Feel better?”

“Mmm, I do,” she purred with a smile. “You always help.”

“Can we  _ please _ not go weeks without fucking again?” he rolled onto his side. “I missed feeling you…”

“Well, maybe we’ll manage to find more free time for fucking.” she smirked, rolling over to face him. 

“We’d better.” he pulled her closer to his chest. 

They cuddled together, feeling happier than they had in days. For the moment, they had both forgotten about the war meeting they had both sat through. They had the luxury of peace, even if just for the rest of the night, something that they were lucky to enjoy. With the eclipse rapidly approaching, they both knew that it was entirely possible for everything to change, even before Sozin’s Comet came. But in the meantime, they were more than happy to stay wrapped up in each other’s arms, undisturbed by the rest of the world and all the people in it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day of Black Sun is comin up next, so get ready!


	76. Day of Black Sun pt I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW I wrote this quicker than I thought I would! I finally feel like I'm back in my groove again lol. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!! This fic is officially too long to all fit in one google doc, by the way, which I didn't know was a thing that could happen lmao

“Prince Zuko, Golden Dragon, the bunkers are ready. The Fire Lord and Princess Azula are already on their way to the volcano.” a servant bowed at the door. 

“I’m on my way,” Yzako sighed, stepping away from Jin as the maid finished tying her obi. 

“I’ll be there soon.” Zuko said. “I have a few things I want to finish up.”

Kul was already awake, climbing to his feet as Yzako gave Zuko a quick kiss and headed for the door. 

“Don’t take too long,” Yzako said over her shoulder. “You don’t want to get caught up here during the eclipse.”

“I know, I know.” he chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

She gave him a warm smile before disappearing after the servant, Kul squeezing out through the door behind her. 

As soon as they were gone, Zuko let out a heavy sigh. He  _ did _ have things to finish up, but they probably weren’t along the lines of anything Yzako was expecting. Or maybe she was; after all, she knew him better than anyone else did, save for his uncle, maybe. Uncle...was  _ he _ going to be safe during the invasion? He was a firebending master, the Dragon of the West, but he had been confined to a prison cell for what felt like forever, and there was no telling what could happen. He was going to have to find him before he left.

“Jin, you should go back to your quarters and stay safe. The invasion will be starting soon.” he said, staring down at a portrait of his mother as it sat on a low table near the foot of his bed.

The maid stared at him in confusion. “Do you need help with anything, Prince Zuko? I don’t want you to get caught in the palace when the invaders arrive. You could be put in danger.”

“I’ll only be a few minutes. Besides...I can take care of myself.” he glanced up at her. “Stay safe, Jin.”

“Yes, my prince,” she bowed before backing out the door. 

When he heard it shut behind her, Zuko turned back to the table and sank to his knees. Ursa’s gentle eyes seemed so alive, gazing into his very soul with an unmatchable kindness, just how he remembered. At the same time, though, she appeared sad, as if the artist knew how miserable she had been in the palace. Was it because she hated royal life, or did she hate her husband? Zuko could remember days when they laughed together, happy as a family...but those days had been long gone by the time his mother disappeared, and he had a feeling that those feelings had been replaced by resentment

“I know I’ve made some bad choices.” he closed his eyes. “But today...I’m gonna set things right.”

He imagined that if she were really there, she would tell him that she was proud. 

The portrait was silent, though, and he moved to pull a bag out from under the bed. He had packed it while Yzako was taking a hot bath the night before, careful to wrap his swords in leather so she wouldn’t hear them clattering on the floor and go investigating. It felt wrong, hiding his decision from her, but her words a few days earlier had forced him to think, and he had finally come to the conclusion that he needed to leave. 

He knew his destiny now. It wasn’t what he thought it was; once, he had thought he was meant to capture the avatar and bring glory to the throne. Now, he knew it was something more. His father was a monster, and after hearing his plans for Sozin’s Comet, Zuko finally admitted what he had known all along. He couldn’t sit by and watch the Fire Lord destroy the world. He couldn’t be the one to take him down, though...it wasn’t his life to take. Someone else was meant to do it, someone who probably detested Zuko with his entire being, assuming he was truly still alive. 

The prince was going to find the avatar, and help him take Ozai down. 

He didn’t know what Yzako’s role was going to be in everything, but he had a feeling that she was going to break free from the Fire Lord’s chains. Judging by what she had told him, she was angry and broken, wanting nothing more than to see Ozai stopped. Zuko didn’t want to put her in more danger, though; he was well versed in living as a traitor to the nation, but she deserved more. Not to mention the girls from Ba Sing Se needed her to keep them safe. So he just...never told her about his plans to confront his father, or to escape the city in one of the new war balloons. The less she knew, the better. 

He did leave a note for her, though, a smooth piece of parchment rolled up and tied with a red ribbon. Zuko hoped that it would explain his feelings better than his voice ever could. He hoped that Yzako would be able to see how hard it was for him to leave her behind. He hoped that she would read his words and know how much he loved her, and how much he wanted to stay. But he also hoped that she would understand that he  _ needed _ to help Aang, and if she was the woman he knew she was, she would sense the sincerity in the way he wrote  _ I love you _ at the end. 

“I’m sorry, Yzako.” he squeezed his eyes shut, his fingers lingering on the scroll for a moment before he hoisted his bag and swords onto his back, flipped the hood of his robe up, and slipped out the door. He needed to get to the hidden bunker the royal family was supposed to be staying in, but he needed to be inside before the invaders arrived. If he wanted to make it into the secret room the Fire Lord was waiting in without any interruptions, he would have to sneak past both Yzako  _ and _ Azula, one of which would be patrolling the halls while the other acted as a decoy for the avatar and/or his friends. It wouldn’t be easy, but his life never was, and he didn’t suppose that was going to change anytime soon.

Every step felt heavier than the last as he made his way through the empty corridors of the palace. The entire city, save for the military forces occupying it, had been instructed to evacuate, many of the wealthy citizens choosing to go to Ember Island where they were sure to be safe while their bending was gone. There wasn’t a soul in sight, the silence eerie and unsettling, a creeping feeling making Zuko’s skin tingle uncomfortably. 

At the same time, though, every step was  _ freeing. _ The tightness in his chest was loosening, and he could tell that he was on the right path finally. He hadn’t done the hard part yet, but he  _ knew _ that he could face his father one last time to announce his departure. All he had to do now was get to him.

  
  
  


\---

  
  


“ _ Ugh, _ this is boring,” Yzako groaned, sitting back against Kul’s leg as she stared at the river of magma before them. “At least the inside of a volcano is warm,  _ I guess. _ ”

Kul grumbled in agreement. 

“I mean, how many more times can we patrol back and forth before we give up?” she asked. “Do you even think they’re going to find this place?”

He tilted his head, moving in what could have been some sort of shrug. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. If anyone could get down here, it would be a blind earthbender.” Yzako sighed. “Still. I wish we could go take a break. Zuko must have snuck in to join Azula while we were at the other end of the tunnels.”

Kul nodded, letting out another grumble. 

“I wish we could have talked to Uncle before coming down here.” she leaned her head back against his scales. “After seeing how many troops they have in the city, I’m a little...worried. Like, he’s tough and all, and he’s probably more than prepared to deal with an invasion, but still…”

The dragon nudged her gently with his snout. 

“Yeah, yeah. I know. He’ll be fine.” she was quiet for a moment, looking out at the bright red magma as it flowed slowly. “What do you think he would say, if he knew about Ozai’s plan for the comet?”

Kul didn’t need to respond for her to know what he was thinking. 

“You’re right. He would tell me to do something about it.” she closed her eyes. “He would say something wise, about how there’s a time and a place for everything, and we’re coming to that time and that place. He would say that we have no choice but to fight and do what we have to.”

The sound Kul made was more confident than anything previous.

“Yeah. We’ll figure it out after this eclipse is over.” Yzako climbed to her feet with a sigh. “Come on. We’d better get back in there before they shut us out.”

He turned and followed her down the rocky tunnel until they reached a set of huge metal doors that marked the outside of the royal family’s bunker. The two slipped inside just as they were closing, a few guards welding them shut and saluting Yzako as she passed. The Fire Lord had informed her that Kul was to be the one opening those doors again, and that he didn’t care if the dragon used his head or his fire to do so. Part of her was looking forward to watching him bash his spirit-skull against them over and over until they busted open, and the rest of her was already imagining the splitting headache it would no doubt give her.

The tunnels inside the bunker were tighter than those in the volcano around it, but Kul managed to walk along with his head down and his wings pulled in against his back. Metal beams criss crossed above them, stabilizing the structure the same way they would a mine. All in all, it was a perfectly fine doomsday shelter, and Yzako imagined that the avatar and his friends would take one look at it and turn away in defeat.

A whistling sound caught her attention, and as she rounded a corner, she nearly ran straight into War Minister Chin. The man stumbled back in surprise, and she realized that  _ he, _ in an unusually cheery mood, had been the source of the whistling. 

“Ah, Golden Dragon, forgive me.” he bowed. 

“Stretching your legs?” she asked, eyebrow quirked. 

“Indeed. These rooms are rather stuffy, after all, and as much as I enjoy the company of the rest of the Fire Lord’s council, I can only bear to stay in close quarters with them for so long. I’m sure you understand.” he said. 

Yzako snorted. “I do. I assume you remember what to say in the event of an encounter with the invaders?”

“Of course, Golden Dragon. I am well prepared to send any attackers directly to Princess Azula.” 

She gave a quick nod. “Good. Stay safe, War Minister.”

“You as well.” with that, he carried on, continuing his whistling again.

She and Kul stepped past him, the dragon’s long body seeming to take forever to twist around the narrow corners of the bunker’s halls. Everyone had been well informed of Ozai’s safety plan, but Yzako didn’t trust any of them not to fuck it up. It was simple enough, and all they had to do was tell the avatar where the Fire Lord’s chamber was so that he would find Azula lying in wait, but men like Chin had a tendency to get overly confident. She had seen it with the drill outside Ba Sing Se, and she could envision it happening again with this. 

While sending Aang to visit with Azula wasn’t ideal, in her mind, the airbender would have a chance against her. He absolutely would  _ not _ fare that well if he tried to face Ozai now, unless his skills had improved dramatically since she had seen him last. The Fire Lord considered himself the best firebender in the world, and avatar or not, Aang just wouldn’t be able to hold his own if it came to a fight now.

As she was wandering towards Azula’s chamber, the avatar, Sokka, and Toph were forcing their way through the bunker’s huge metal doors. It was thanks to Toph that they had realized the volcano was filled with tunnels, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together and see that Ozai was hiding inside it. Getting across the magma had been easy with Aang’s glider, and thanks to Toph,  _ again, _ the metal doors meant to keep them out had done little to stop them. 

Now, they just needed to get to the Fire Lord and take him down while his bending was useless. The eclipse was set to begin in only a few minutes, and once it started, Aang wouldn’t have long to do what he had to do. He had barely slept in the days leading up to the invasion, his nightmares filled with fire and demons and nonsensical things that kept him anxious and awake. Now, with bags under his eyes, he had no choice but to face Ozai and end it, and  _ hopefully  _ save the world. 

As the three of them sprinted through the rocky tunnels, they heard someone whistling.They nearly ran straight past the greying man, turning just in time to corner him against the wall with weapons and rocks at the ready. 

He immediately put his hands up, his eyes wide with fear as he pointed to his right. “The Fire Lord’s chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs. You can’t miss it.”

The avatar advanced on him, shoving his staff up towards his throat. The boy’s harsh expression softened suddenly, though, and all he said was a cheery “thanks!” before turning to run off. 

“Hang on!” the man yelled as the three attackers began to leave. “I wouldn’t go that way if I were you! There’s a--”

But they were already sprinting away, forgetting about the strangely helpful and finely-dressed informant. 

“Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse!” Sokka said as they ran, checking the mechanical timer he carried in his pocket. He had been the brains behind this entire invasion, planning it all from the second he found out about the eclipse while they visited Wan Shi Tong’s library in the desert. He knew this was their only chance to do any serious damage to the Fire Nation before Sozin’s Comet came, and with any luck, Aang would be able to reach the Fire Lord and end things before they could get any worse. 

“We’re almost there. We can do this.” Aang set his jaw. He was nervous—he had been from the very beginning—and he didn’t know if he could defeat the Fire Lord. He had already witnessed the carnage in the city outside, and while he knew this invasion was going to be difficult to pull off, he didn’t expect it to be quite so hard. Everything had been silent, all the citizens seeming to be gone, almost as if they had known what was coming. Was this something firebenders just  _ did  _ on the one day they were powerless? There was no way they could have  _ all  _ moved that quickly, and there  _ shouldn’t _ have been any way they had heard of the invasion plans.

And yet, somehow they  _ had,  _ and Ozai was holed up in this bunker instead of waiting around in the palace.

“Hey, wait, there’s somebody up ahea--”

Before Toph could finish, the boys rounded a corner only to run head-on into a very solid, very  _ large, _ some kind of  _ something. _

Kul let out a surprised grunt, turning as he climbed the stairs to the “Fire Lord’s” chamber. The dragon barely felt the collision something had made with his haunches, but it was enough for him to bother paying attention to. Yzako heard the noise and jumped, whipping around quickly with her hands raised and ready to attack. 

What she found were three familiar faces. Aang, Sokka, and Toph stood before her, more than surprised to be meeting her like this. They looked older than the last time she had seen them, as if the past few months had forced them all to grow up a considerable amount. Truth be told, they probably had; Yzako didn’t know what they had been doing or where they had been hiding, but she couldn’t imagine it had been easy or pleasant. Sokka was dressed in blue and white furs, forearms wrapped in armor, a few weapons strapped to his back. Aang had a new staff, his feet clad in Fire Nation boots that were no doubt stolen from a soldier. Toph wore an Earth Kingdom army hat, round and armored with a spike on the top, just like the ones the soldiers in Ba Sing Se all had when Kul had rained fire and death down on them. 

They looked just how she remembered, but also seemed like strangers.

“Oh,  _ great.” _ Sokka growled, readying his boomerang. “Looks like you’ve been promoted from the destroyer of Ba Sing Se to the Fire Lord’s  _ guard dog. _ ”

“Shut up,” Yzako hissed at him. “I don’t know how you made it this far, but you need to turn back now. Get out, before someone else sees you.”

“Or what?” Aang asked angrily. “Are you going to stop us?”

“I just might have to.” Yzako narrowed her eyes.

“Go ahead and try!” He raised his staff and quickly brought it down towards the ground, a gust of wind knocking Yzako off her feet before she had any chance to dodge it.

She landed on her back, twisting her hips for a sweeping kick that she had learned from Zuko, but where there should have been flames swirling towards her opponents...there were none. 

“What?” She snarled, sitting up. When she aimed a blast at Sokka’s head, no fire came out, her limbs and chest suddenly feeling sickeningly empty. She was cold inside, weak and dull, the flames in her chest disappearing in a way she had never felt before. 

“The total eclipse is starting!” Sokka yelled as the three of them ran up the stairs towards what they didn’t know was a trap. 

Yzako stood and followed after them. “Oh no you don’t!” 

“Get  _ back!”  _ Toph shouted, pausing at the top of the stairs to kick a chunk of earth up from under her feet and aim it at Yzako.

It struck her in the arm, knocking her back slightly, but she continued after them. Kul followed, letting out a loud screech. It fell on deaf ears, the avatar and his friends failing to heed the dragon’s warning, but just inside the bunker, Azula was sure to have heard it. She was no doubt preparing herself to face Aang and waste his time while the eclipse passed, and Zuko was sure to be at her side, ready to do the exact same thing, just as their father had instructed them to.

Yzako reached the top step and paused, holding her injured arm close to her body as she watched the invaders skid to a stop. They stood in front of the large metal doors of Azula‘s chamber, the huge Fire Nation insignia decorating them to look as though Ozai himself was sitting inside.

“You won’t be able to get to the Fire Lord!” She yelled. “Those doors are solid metal. There’s nothing in them that anyone can bend.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, chicken-lizard. I’ve got it under control.” Toph called over her shoulder before spitting on her palms. She reached for the doors, the metal twisting under her fingers the way earth would. 

Yzako watched, awestruck with the way the girl wrenched the doors open with nothing but brute strength and her bare hands. Had she... _ invented  _ metalbending? Yzako had never heard of anyone doing something like that before, and evidently, neither had any of the war ministers and engineers who had designed this bunker to keep earthbenders out. She had expected Sokka to try to come up with some ingenious plan to open them, but it seemed like that wasn’t even necessary. 

Aang stood still for a moment, gathering himself. This was what he had been preparing for. As far as he knew, the Fire Lord was on the other side of the doors, and he was finally about to face the man who had been plaguing his nightmares.

“I’m ready.” Yzako heard him say. “I’m ready to face the Fire Lord.”

With a swing of his staff, a whirlwind of air knocked the damaged doors off their hinges, sending them flying into the room with a thunderous clatter. He led the way inside, walking through the dust cloud he had kicked up.

Yzako sighed and motioned for Kul to follow her. 

“Come on,” she growled, taking off at a run. 

The dragon trotted after her eagerly, his head lowered and his lips pulled back in a grin as he thought about chasing Sokka and snapping at his heels.

Inside the chamber, Aang skidded to a stop, confused by what he saw. It wasn’t Ozai sitting on the throne at the end of the long room, but Azula, the princess’s face wearing a smirk as she lounged with her legs crossed and her cheek propped up on her hand. 

“So, you  _ are _ alive, after all.” she said. “I had a hunch that you survived. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve known about this little invasion for  _ months.” _

Aang collected himself, baring his teeth in a snarl. “Where is he? Where’s the Fire Lord?”

“You mean I’m not good enough for you?” Azula stood, grinning as she caught sight of a dragon appearing in the doorway behind her guests. “You’re hurting my  _ feelings. _ ”

“Stop wasting our time and give us the information!” Sokka said, pulling a sword off his back and pointing it towards her. “You’re powerless right now, so you’re in no position to refuse.”

“And stick to the truth!” Toph yelled. “I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying!”

“Are you sure?” Azula approached them.“I’m a pretty good liar. I am a 400-foot-tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings.” 

Azula said it smoothly, her face blank as she delivered the ridiculous lie flawlessly. Toph gritted her teeth together in frustration as she realized that there was no change in Azula’s heartbeat, no uncomfortable shifts in her weight. She was perfectly confident, something that most people weren’t.

“...Okay, you’re good, I admit.” Toph growled. She thrust her fists forward and suddenly the princess was trapped in a slab of rock that came jutting up from the floor. “But you really oughtta consider telling the truth anyways.”

“I’m not so sure that  _ you’re _ in any position to be making demands right now.” Azula smiled, looking past them to Yzako and Kul.

Sokka glanced back, his eyes widening as he realized that they were trapped. Kul was taking up the entire doorway, smoke puffing out of his nostrils as he glared forward. Yzako stood in front of him, looking around the room as if searching for someone. 

“Where’s Zuko?” she asked.

“Ugh,  _ really? _ Worrying about Zu Zu at a time like this?” Azula rolled her eyes. “I have no idea where my stupid brother is. I haven’t seen him all day.”

Yzako frowned. “Then I’m going to find him.”

“Yes, yes.” the rock around Azula shuddered, suddenly exploding into dust. She brushed herself off, taking a step forward. “I’ll be quite fine here. When we left Ba Sing Se, I brought a few of my  _ own _ souvenirs home with me. Dai Li agents.”

Two earthbenders dropped from the stalactites on the rocky ceiling, landing in front of the princess and moving their arms in a sweeping motion. Earth from the walls surged out, forming a new set of doors for Toph to get through and doing nothing but wasting the avatar’s time. 

“That idiot,” Yzako hissed, turning her back on Aang and the others. 

“You’re just  _ leaving?” _ Sokka asked as Aang and Toph ran forward to face the Dai Li. 

“Sorry, can’t talk right now!” Yzako called as she squeezed past Kul and out into the hall. “I need to find my stupid boyfriend!”

He watched her go, briefly wondering if following her would be a better idea than wasting time with Azula. When a rock narrowly missed his head, though, his attention was brought back to the battle in front of him, and thoughts of Yzako immediately dissipated. 

She broke into a jog, Kul following behind as she headed towards Ozai’s  _ actual _ chamber. Maybe Zuko was there? While it was slim, there was a chance that he had been invited to wait out the eclipse with his father, and somehow, that seemed scarier than if he was caught up in the invasion at the palace instead. What if it was some kind of trap? Maybe Yzako was only paranoid, but she couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that was growing in her gut. She sped up, sprinting as fast as she could until the chamber came into view. 

The doors were open, when they absolutely should  _ not _ have been, and her stomach twisted. Had someone managed to slip past her somehow and get to Ozai while Aang and the other two found Azula? She skidded to a stop when she reached them, Kul nearly bowling over her as he tried to halt in time. What she saw before her wasn’t at all what she expected, and it seemed that the avatar wasn’t the only one receiving surprises in that bunker. 

Zuko stood with his back to the door, facing his father as the Fire Lord kneeled on a decadent throne and sipped his favorite tea. A row of imperial soldiers were standing at the ready, spears in hand, their eyes trained on the prince who carried visible swords on his back.

“Why are you here?” Ozai asked his son. 

“I’m here to tell the truth.” Zuko said. 

Yzako noticed that he was wearing simple clothes, his hair loose instead of gathered up in a topknot. What was he up to? The  _ truth? _ What did that even  _ mean? _ She took a quiet step forward, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

Ozai noticed her, his eyes flickering towards her and the dragon behind her, taking note of how she seemed to have no idea what was going on. Ah, so it was just his insolent son acting out of turn,  _ as usual. _

“Telling the truth in the middle of an eclipse.” Ozai scoffed. “This should be interesting.”

He raised his hand, waving it to the side. His guards bowed their heads before jogging out in an orderly fashion, disappearing through a side door. The Fire Lord was well protected by Kul, should any trouble arise, and when Ozai gave an order, they obeyed.

Zuko balled his hands into fists. As far as he knew, he and his father were alone now. “First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the avatar. Not me.”

“Why would she lie to me about that?” Ozai asked.

“Because the avatar isn’t dead.” Zuko said. “He survived.”

“What?!” Ozai hissed, eyes widening angrily. 

“In fact, he’s probably leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now.” Zuko continued.

“Get out!” the Fire Lord snarled, jumping to his feet. “Get out of my sight right now if you know what’s good for you.”

“That’s another thing.” Zuko said, bracing himself. “I’m not taking orders from you anymore.”

Yzako couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

“You will obey me,” Ozai sneered, narrowing his eyes. “Or this defiant breath will be your last.”

“Think again!” Zuko snapped, taking the twin swords from their hilt and separating them into each hand with one fluid motion. “I’m going to speak my mind, and you’re going to listen!”

With an angry expression, Ozai glanced past his son to Yzako once again, pleased to see that she was still waiting obediently at the door. He had no skills when it came to swordsmanship, and were it not for her presence, he may have been worried for his own safety until the eclipse ended. Confident that he was well protected, the Fire Lord kneeled once more, sitting down and facing Zuko expectantly.

“All my life, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me.” the prince said to his father. “I thought it was my honor that I wanted, but really, I was trying to please you.  _ You, _ my father who banished me for speaking out of turn. My father, who challenged me, a  _ boy, _ to an agni kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a  _ child?” _

“It was to teach you respect.” Ozai hissed. 

“It was cruel and it was wrong!”

“Then you’ve learned nothing!”

“No, I’ve learned  _ everything. _ ” Zuko growled. “And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. Somehow, the war was our way of sharing that greatness with the world. What an amazing lie that was.”

Yzako could feel herself choking up as she listened, but she stifled her noises with a hand clasped over her mouth. 

“The people of the world are terrified of the Fire Nation.” Zuko said. “They don’t see our greatness. They  _ hate _ us, and we deserve it. We’ve created an era of nothing but fear in the world, and if we don’t want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace. And  _ kindness.” _

Ozai threw his head back and laughed. “Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

Zuko closed his eyes, looking down for a moment before he opened them again. “Yes. He has.”

“That’s just beautiful.” the Fire Lord chuckled. “Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and  _ failure. _ ”

Yzako’s nostrils flared in anger and she lowered the hand from her mouth. Ozai was lucky that she didn’t have her bending, or else she might have behaved far less  _ obediently _ than he liked her to.

“I’ve come to an important decision.” Zuko said, drawing her attention back to him again. “I’m going to join the avatar. And I’m going to help him defeat you.”

Yzako was speechless. He was... _ what? _ Just like that? Had their conversation the other night really gotten to him that much? She couldn’t decide if she was upset or proud, something akin to exhilaration suddenly coursing through her veins at the sound of his words. 

“Oh, really?” Ozai sneered. “Since you’re a full blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I’m powerless. You’ve got your swords. Why don’t you just do it now? Kill your own father and take his throne.”

“I know my own destiny.” Zuko gripped his swords tighter. “Taking you down is the avatar’s destiny.” 

When he returned the swords to the scabbard on his back and began to turn towards the door, Yzako’s heart nearly stopped. He was about to spot her and realize that she had been there the entire time, and she didn’t know how she was supposed to react. Ozai would be expecting her to attack, no doubt already about to give her the signal to do so, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it. Her mind was racing, time seeming to move slowly as she tried to decide if she was going with him or staying behind. 

“Coward!” Ozai yelled. “You think you’re brave enough to face me, but you’ll only do it during an eclipse. If you have any real courage, you’ll stick around until the sun comes out. Don’t you want to know what happened to your mother?”

Zuko halted before he could spot Yzako. “What happened that night?”

Ozai stood with a smirk. “My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. I was going to do it. Your mother found out, and swore to protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne, and so she proposed a plan in which I would become Fire Lord, and your life would be spared.”

Yzako took a step forward, wanting to reach for Zuko. She had already heard this story, and she knew that the prince wouldn’t like how it ended. 

“Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences, and she accepted them. For her treason, she was banished.”

“So she’s alive?” 

Yzako could hear the pain in Zuko’s voice, and she could imagine that his uninjured eye had tears in it. 

“Perhaps.” Ozai said. “Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Yours will be much,  _ much _ steeper.”

He closed his eyes, and just as he opened them again, Yzako felt a rush of power flowing through her chest and into her limbs. Sparks crackled at her fingertips, and as the Fire Lord generated a massive ball of lightning, Kul let out an earsplitting roar behind Zuko. 

The prince caught the deadly bolt his father shot at him, holding the lightning in his body even as its force pushed him back towards Yzako. He was bristling with more energy than he had ever felt, remembering all of his uncle’s warnings about the cold fire and how quickly it could stop his heart should it reach it. Feeling a surge of heat behind him that could only be from a dragon, Zuko returned the volley towards Ozai, the Fire Lord failing to catch it again. 

He flew back into the wall behind his throne, hitting it with a loud grunt as the air was knocked out of his lungs. The Fire Nation banner hanging behind him fell to the ground in flames, and as he tried to catch his breath and look up, he saw with great satisfaction that Kul and Yzako were already chasing after the traitorous prince who had somehow managed to squeeze past them. 

“Bring him back to me!” Ozai snarled, far weaker than he wanted to sound. He had no idea if the Golden Dragon had heard him, but it didn’t matter; as she disappeared down the tunnel, she looked to be hot on Zuko’s heels, Kul bounding alongside her. He had trained them well, and he was confident that she wouldn’t fail him again. 

Meanwhile, Yzako was trying to catch up with her all-too-quick boyfriend. He was outrunning her just as he had throughout the Earth Kingdom, sprinting through halls and around corners that Kul was getting stuck in. When the dragon failed to stop in time and his head slammed into the rocky wall, he gave a frustrated roar, choosing to lose his physical form and curl up around Yzako’s spirit until she got outside. 

“Zuko, wait!” she yelled, running as fast as she could. 

He didn’t answer, evading her as if she were actually pursuing him with the intent to kill him. It made her angry, her teeth bared as she followed as closely as she could. When they had finally escaped the volcano through a side entrance, she jumped towards him, colliding with his torso and wrapping her arms around him until they both went tumbling across the hard ground at the top of the mountain. 

“Let go!” he shouted, trying to wiggle out of her grip as if his life depended on it. “Yzako, stop it!”

“No!” she tightened her grip, squeezing as hard as she could. “I’m not going to hurt you!”

He finally gave up, chest heaving as he sat there with her practically in his lap. “Then what are you doing?”

“What are  _ you  _ doing?” she panted, looking up at him. “Are you seriously leaving? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, idiot?”

He was silent, avoiding her eyes. 

“Did you think I wouldn’t help you?” she asked. “Did you think I would try to kill you?” When he didn’t answer, she loosened her grip. “Zuko?”

“I wanted to keep you safe.” he finally looked at her. 

“Keep  _ me _ safe?” she couldn’t help but laugh, letting him go and sitting up to straddle his waist. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t deserve to live as a traitor.” he sat up, putting a hand on her hip to hold her steady. “And you need to stay here, to protect the others.”

“So you were just going to leave without saying anything?” she asked.

He couldn’t ignore the hurt in her voice, and he could feel his heart breaking.

“No, I left you a note--”

“A  _ note?  _ You think a  _ note _ is good enough?” she raised her voice angrily. “You could have told me to my face. You had this entire plan to confront your father, and I had no idea? That isn’t fair!”

“Why not?” he yelled back.

“Because I would have helped you!”

“You...what?” he asked. 

“I told you I can’t keep obeying him like this.” she slipped out of his grasp and stood, looking out over the palace down in the caldera. “So...I haven’t been.”

“What are you talking about?” Zuko stood to join her.

“I’ve been to see Uncle.” she admitted quietly. 

His face dropped. “What? When?”

“Every now and then.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” it was his turn to grow angry.

“Well, it seems like we were  _ both _ trying to protect each other.” she snapped. 

“Fine.” he huffed, lowering his voice again. “How did you get in without anyone saying anything?”

“Kul guided my spirit to Iroh, somewhere between our world and the spirit world.” she said, looking out towards the prison tower Uncle was being kept in. “All those nights I meditated in the gardens...I was visiting him.”

Zuko didn’t know what to say for a moment. “So...you agree? We need to help the avatar?”

“Darling, I’ve been putting myself in more danger than you’ll ever know.” she snorted, finally turning to look up at him. “Min and the girls? They’ve been stealing as much information from the Fire Lord’s council members as possible. Min even ended up in bed with Ozai  _ himself. _ We knew about the bunkers in this volcano, and about your mother, and about your relation to Avatar Roku. I’m pretty sure Fen and Chun have memorized every model of war machine that the army has developed at this point. We’ve been dancing with exile and death for a while now.”

The prince was speechless, but as he looked down at Yzako and her bright, fiery eyes that dared him to challenge her, a grin found its way onto his face. “I cannot believe you sometimes.”

She returned the grin. “Glad I can keep you on your toes.”

“Good to know we’ll never get boring as we grow old.” he laughed, grabbing her waist and pulling her towards him for a kiss. 

She returned the kiss, sinking into him as their lips met before she leaned back again. “ _ If _ we grow old. You just significantly lowered your life expectancy by pulling that little stunt in there.”

He sighed, remembering the task at hand. “I know. I need to get Uncle and then get out of here.”

“What’s your plan, exactly?” she asked.

“I’m going to use a war balloon to follow the avatar.” Zuko said, trying to convince himself that it was actually a good idea. “Then I’ll...convince him to let me teach him firebending, and get him ready for the comet.”

“Well, I’m supposed to be chasing you, like the good old days.” Yzako took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together as Kul appeared behind her. “We’ll give you a headstart.”

Zuko grinned, bringing her hand up to kiss her knuckles. “Thank you, my love.”

“We’ll send the invasion forces running for the harbor and then tell the Fire Lord you gave us the slip.” Yzako smiled. “When he sends us after you again, we’ll catch up with you wherever you end up.”

“I love you.” Zuko grabbed her jaw, swooping in for another kiss before turning and running towards the prison. 

“I love you too,” Yzako breathed, watching him go.

Then, she turned to Kul, climbed up onto his neck, and they took to the sky.


	77. Day of Black Sun pt II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little short, only because I ended up splitting it into two! Thanks for being so patient with me! The next chapter is a real kicker, I promise!

“Yzako!” Ozai snarled as she entered the throne room. “What happened? Where is that insolent  _ brat?” _

“He escaped, Fire Lord.” she dropped to one knee in front of him. Behind her, Kul lowered his head in a bow, smoke still billowing from his nostrils. 

After Zuko had left, Yzako and her dragon had flown over the city, Kul’s jaws parting to let out a massive roar that had the invasion forces scrambling for cover. The eclipse was over, Fire Nation soldiers able to use their bending again, and the fight ended quickly. Water Tribe warriors and Earth Kingdom rebels were all taken into custody, becoming prisoners of war who would no doubt be sent off to whatever far away jail to rot for the rest of their lives. Or, maybe there would be public executions.

Yzako couldn’t be sure; she had never seen Ozai quite this angry before. She didn’t know what his plans would be, and at the moment, she was only concerned with what he was going to say about Zuko. The prince had left his father infuriated, the Fire Lord immediately returning to the palace to see for himself that the attackers were all being dealt with. Yzako had a feeling that he had also been hoping for the chance to burn a few of them to the crisp himself, but it didn’t seem that he had gotten the chance. 

Yet.

She and Kul had finished their flight, turning back towards the palace just after catching a glimpse of a stray war balloon slipping between clouds. At least she knew that Zuko had managed to get in the air and was likely following close behind the avatar’s bison. All she had to do was get out of the throne room in one piece, and she would be free to chase after him. Now, though, she was facing the Fire Lord, Ozai’s face twisted in an angry grimace the likes of which Yzako had never seen before. Zuko’s betrayal had set off his temper, it seemed, and if the scorch marks on the floor in front of the throne were any indication, he was in an even more dangerous mood than usual. 

“He  _ escaped?” _ Ozai asked. 

“Yes, Fire Lord. I chased him out of the volcano, but when I got outside, he had disappeared.” Yzako kept her expression blank, staring down. The last thing she wanted to do was give him any reason to doubt her. She had been making her plan up on the fly, and she absolutely needed things to go smoothly if she had any chance of being able to run after Zuko and help him. 

“Then go after him!” the Fire Lord stood, pointing towards the door angrily. “Do not return without his corpse! I expect you back here before the day that Sozin’s Comet arrives!”

“Yes, Fire Lord.” Yzako rose, pleased by his response. “I’ll pack my things now.”

“Go quickly.” Ozai growled. “Destroy Zuko  _ and _ the avatar. And  _ no mistakes this time. _ ”

“Focus on the war, Fire Lord. I’ll deal with the traitor.” she and Kul turned towards the door.

Her words were cold, cold enough that they had Ozai convinced that she meant them. “Bring honor to your name, Yzako. By the end of summer, you will be my right hand. Do not lose sight of the glory that awaits you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” she said, eyes narrowed.

She meant her words, even if Ozai was interpreting them in a different manner than she was.

As soon as she was out of the throne room and out of the Fire Lord’s sight, she exhaled deeply. She hadn’t even realized that she had been holding her breath, focusing instead on keeping her posture perfect. She wanted to be impeccable, to show Ozai that all of his  _ training _ and  _ breaking  _ had worked. She wanted him to think that she was finally,  _ truly, _ completely obedient, and it seemed that in his hysteria, he was believing her act. Not a hair out of place, as Lo and Li would say. Keeping her cool in front of him had been hard, but it was worth it, and now, all she needed to do was talk with Min, grab a bag, and hope that she could track Zuko down. 

“Yzako,” Min was waiting for her as he reached her room, opening the door before she had a chance to reach for it. 

“What are you doing here?” Yzako asked, rushing in. She was only half surprised to see her, and she was in too much of a hurry to stop and wonder about it for much longer. The other girls were all there as well, sitting on her bed and the sofa, a map spread out on the floor with the tea table shoved up against the wall.

It seemed that they had already been busy while she and Kul were out terrorizing the invasion forces. 

“We heard what happened in the bunker.” Min closed the door behind Kul as he entered.

“Already?” Yzako asked. 

“I heard the princess speaking with the Fire Lord.” Jin appeared from the bathing room, holding her hands together nervously. “I ran to find everyone as quickly as I could and gathered them here. I-I was drawing a bath for you at first, but now I suppose you won’t be needing it, if you’re going to help the prince...”

“Well, welcome to the resistance, I guess.” Yzako said, hurrying to her chest of drawers in the corner and pulling out a leather bag. “Somebody fill her in on everything else.”

“Already did.” Min nodded. 

“We also read this letter Zuko left for you.” Chun said from her spot on the bed.

“Give me that,” Yzako demanded, crossing the room to grab the scroll from her. 

She gave it up easily. “It doesn’t say anything about where he went, so we borrowed a map from one of the admirals.”

“Borrowed, huh?” Yzako asked, tossing the scroll into her bag. She didn’t have the time to chastise Chun for peeking at what was obviously supposed to be a private message, no matter how much she wanted to. “Jin, help me grab some clothes.”

“Of course, Golden Dragon.” the maid bowed her head before rushing to Yzako’s wardrobe.

“Yeah,  _ borrowed.” _ Fen said, peering down at the map from her place on the sofa. “Not like it was hard. A lot of them are going to be away from the palace until late, when they’re all  _ absolutely sure  _ that it’s safe.”

“Very brave, some of these warmongers,” Chun rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, well, they have to be some sort of brave to get to where they are now.” Yzako said over her shoulder. “The Fire Nation honors power and passion above all else. Gotta give them  _ some _ credit.”

“No, I don’t.” Chun wrinkled her nose.

“Zuko will be following the avatar, right?” Min asked, drawing their attention back to the matter at hand before Yzako could get irritated with anyone. The last thing they needed was an angry dragon. 

“That’s what he said.” Yzako nodded.

“Then we need to figure out where the avatar is going.” 

“There’s an entire world out there, and he has a flying bison.” Yzako said. “He could be headed anywhere.”

“He’ll most likely have picked up everyone he could find while fleeing, assuming that any of the other invasion forces managed to avoid being taken into custody.” Zhang spoke up, pointing down at the map. “They’ll be tired and slow, so they’ll be going to the closest safe place they know of. The Earth Kingdom is a no-go now, and the Northern Water Tribe is too far. That leaves only one nearby place that the avatar would be familiar with that could be safe.”

“Okay, so what is it?” Yzako leaned over the back of the couch to look at the map for herself. 

“The Western Air Temple.”

“It’s a start.” Yzako pushed off of the couch again, spinning around just in time to grab her hurriedly packed bag from Jin. “Be safe while I’m gone. Ozai is...unraveling, or something.”

“What do you mean?” Min asked. 

“He isn’t hiding his anger.” Yzako slung the pack over her shoulder. “Zuko absolutely enraged him. You all need to stay alert and be careful. Shit, I should have been teaching you to fight…”

“Oh, don’t worry about that!” Chun piped up.

“Yeah, we already have a combat teacher!” Fen nodded.

“...who, exactly?” Yzako asked, genuinely curious.

“Zhang!” The two said together.

Everyone turned to look at the tall, quiet girl. Zhang was always graceful and eloquent, never one to speak up unless she had something good to say...and sometimes, those things were surprisingly insightful and, in cases such as the one with the map, tactical. 

“You’re trained in unarmed combat?” Yzako asked skeptically. 

Zhang bowed her head. “I’m trained in other forms of combat, as well.”

“What do you—”

The girl raised her hand, some of the dirt that the nearby bonsai tree was potted in suddenly rising up with her movement. 

“Zhang, you’re an earthbender?” Yzako asked in shock. 

She nodded, letting the dirt settle again. “I served as a medic in the Earth King’s army for a time. I was trained in basic combat, and I have been sharing what I know with the others.”

“Why did you quit?” 

“I prefer this life. There is less bloodshed and more happy moments.”

“Seems fair enough.” Yzako shrugged. “Well, keep, uh...doing that, I guess.”

“I will, Yzako.”

Zhang had always been quiet, preferring to let everyone else do all the talking, and Yzako had never even  _ thought _ to wonder if she was a bender or not. As far as she was aware, the other three girls from Ba Sing Se  _ weren’t _ , so to find out that one of them  _ was _ was...well, a bit of a surprise. Zhang was unassuming, a very prim and proper kind of girl who always hid her face behind silk fans or her wide sleeves, but Yzako supposed that it was always the quiet ones who were the most interesting, and maybe it made sense that she would just so happen to be trained in the art of war. She had always thought that Zhang had simply taken etiquette classes her entire life and acted the way she did to attract more customers, and now that she was thinking about it, she realized that she hadn’t wondered very much about Zhang’s past...or any of the girls’, for that matter. 

“Well...teach Jin a few things, too.” Yzako made for the door, walking as quickly as she could. As much as she wanted to sit around and talk with them, she couldn’t waste any time. “I’ll be back before the comet comes. I have no idea what’s going to happen between now and then, and communication might be too risky.”

“We’ll keep our heads down.” Min said. 

“But don’t act like you know anything.” Yzako warned. “We’ve all made it this far. We can’t afford to slip up now.”

“We know what’s at stake.” Chun raised her chin bravely. 

Fen stood. “Go find Zuko and make things right, so that we can all go live in Ba Sing Se again someday.”

Yzako paused as she reached for the door, looking back at them. “I will.”

“Be careful!” Jin called. “I couldn’t pack any food for you, but there’s sleep clothes and some bandages and--”

“I’ll be fine, Jin.” she smiled. “Thank you.”

“Come back to us safe and sound.” Min growled, following Yzako to the door. She put a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with her serious hazel eyes that always seemed so confident. “I mean it.”

“I’m going to do everything I can.” Yzako mimicked her, placing her hand on Min’s opposite shoulder. “I’ll have updates the next time I see you. Just play dumb, and don’t do anything risky.”

“Playing dumb is what we’re best at.” Min’s lips twisted into a grin. “Now go. Make us proud.”

Yzako returned the grin, giving a nod before disappearing into the corridor. She and Kul walked quickly, making their way towards the front of the palace with the intention of taking flight the moment they got outside. It felt good to be doing something like this again, and even better knowing that she wasn’t chasing after Zuko out of hatred. This time, things were going to be different. 

This time, she was going to make things right, just like Fen had told her to. 

“Well, you’re off in a hurry.” 

A cold voice stopped Yzako in her tracks and she sighed. She had to collect herself again, just like she had with Ozai, only this time, she had to do it  _ quickly. _ “What do you want, Azula? I’m  _ busy.” _

“I’m sure you are.” the princess was leaning against a pillar, a smirk on her face. “Running after my traitor of a brother yet again...I’m beginning to sense a pattern here.”

Yzako rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. He betrayed  _ all _ of us, Azula,  _ including _ me. You think I like the idea of my boyfriend turning his back on the throne?”

“Oh, so is  _ that _ your obsession with Zu Zu?” Azula pushed off the pillar, approaching her. “You want him for his status, so that you can gain more power? Maybe bear his children so that you can secure your place in the royal family? As much as I abhor the idea of my brother procreating, I must admit, I would be impressed if that was actually your plan. Using him for little more than his title and birthright...that’s something I can actually respect...except that we both know it isn’t true.”

“Excuse me?” Yzako snapped, bristling. 

“You’re still infatuated with him for some reason, despite how obviously  _ weak _ he is, both physically and mentally.” the princess narrowed her eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were in on this whole thing.”

“Are you accusing me of something?” Yzako asked angrily.

“No.” Azula shrugged. “But...let’s just say I wouldn’t be too shocked to learn of your own betrayal.”

Kul snarled at her and she took a step back.

“I would watch your tongue if I were you,” Yzako growled, glaring at the princess.

“We’ll see who’s right, in the end.” Azula sneered.

“I don’t have time for your paranoia.” Yzako walked towards the doors, clenching her fists as she waited for the guards to open them for her. She wanted to fight Azula then and there, to remind her that the Golden Dragon was stronger than she would ever be...but she couldn’t. Not yet.

“Paranoia?” Azula laughed behind her. “You think I’ve gotten this far because of paranoia? I’m almost offended.”

“I would love to stay and chat, but I have a job to do.” Yzako said over her shoulder. 

“I’m  _ very _ eager to see what you do, Golden Dragon. I’m  _ sure _ you’ll be bringing Zu Zu back to us soon, dead  _ or _ alive.”

“I will.” Yzako growled. 

“I have a feeling you’ll take your time with it.”

“ _ What?”  _ The Golden Dragon roared, turning on her. 

“Oh, nothing,” Azula said in a singsong-voice. “I just can’t help but notice the way your feelings seem to flip flop so much when it comes to the prince. When I first met you, you didn’t even know who he was. Then...what, you fell in  _ love? _ Then you had those feelings beaten out of you in the torture chambers, and I thought your crush on Zu Zu was gone for good.” 

Yzako’s lip raised in a sneer. “You know nothing of my feelings.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’re  _ very _ complex.” Azula chuckled. “I seem to recall that you  _ loathed _ Zuko just before you shacked up with him in Ba Sing Se.”

“Shut up.” Yzako growled. 

“Or what? What are you going to do to me, o  _ great _ Golden Dragon?” the princess laughed, spreading her arms wide. “All I’m saying is that you haven’t given me very many reasons to trust you, when I look at the big picture. All you do is change your story.”

“I’m carrying out the Fire Lord’s orders.” Yzako said sternly. “Now leave me alone, before I tell him that you’re getting in my way.”

“I’m doing nothing of the sort.” Azula smirked. “I’m merely pointing out the obvious. My father may trust you, but know that I don’t.”

“You don’t have to.” Yzako snorted angrily. “ _ You _ aren’t Fire Lord.”

“Not yet, at least. Now that Zu Zu is a full-blown traitor again, his claim to the throne is gone.  _ Poof. _ Just like that.” she grinned. “One day, I’ll take the throne, and you’ll be left with  _ nothing.” _

Finally having had enough of her, Kul turned, a savage roar tearing out of his throat as he glared at Azula. The princess jumped back, her eyes wide in alarm, and she almost looked like she was going to turn tail and run for a moment before she gathered herself again. By then, it was too late for any witty remarks, the doors already closing behind Kul as he followed Yzako out into the sunlight. 

“What a bitch,” Yzako grumbled as Kul shoved her along. She wanted to stay and fight, but her dragon was pushing her further and further away from her opponent, and he was right to do so. If she had been left to her own devices, Yzako would have tried to eviscerate Azula, and there was no telling  _ what _ kind of trouble that would have gotten her in.

“Yeah, yeah.” she grumbled as Kul pushed her again. “I know. No fighting with the princess.  _ Yet.” _

Kul grumbled in response, dipping his head down in a nod.

“You know the way to the temple?” Yzako asked as she pulled herself up onto his neck. It felt like it had been forever since she had ridden through the sky on him, and with every passing second, she felt more and more excitement rushing through her veins. 

The dragon rumbled in affirmation before spreading his wings out, feeling the sun on his scales. He appeared more alive than ever before, and to anyone who didn’t know his story, he looked perfectly intact, as though he had never been slain at the hands of Fire Lord Azulon. He was a bright, shining gold, his mane a reddish orange color, his claws thick and glossy. He was humming with power, something akin to lightning crackling along his spine as he braced himself for takeoff. 

Yzako leaned down, gripping his horns tightly as she sat behind his head. “Then let’s go. Let’s make this right.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice. 

With a strong flap of his wings, Kul took to the sky, leaving the palace behind as he twisted past the smoke of the ruined war machines and the groups of invaders still being rounded up. Yzako could barely make out the individuals down below her, her eyes trained to the horizon instead, but as Kul flew over them and his shadow darkened the sun for the second time that day, Water Tribe and Earth Nation fighters alike looked up, wondering what exactly the dragon was doing as he flew in the direction that the avatar’s bison had just escaped in. 

“Hakoda,” a warrior said, staring up at the sky. His hands were bound in chains, just like everyone else around him.

“I know, Bato.” another man replied, his expression serious as he followed his friend’s gaze. “I wouldn’t want to be running from that beast.”

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Bato asked, watching as the dragon disappeared into the clouds.

“They have to be.” Hakoda said, his eyes narrowed. “For all our sake.”

  
  



	78. Joining the Gaang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a slow update, but this is a longer chapter than usual so hopefully that makes up for it!

Finding the Western Air Temple was harder than Zhang had made it seem. On the map, it appeared as a large collection of buildings, illustrated to look just like the other three temples the Air Nomads had lived in, but when Yzako and Kul reached what they were  _ sure  _ had to be it, they saw nothing but flat, forested land. Didn’t the Air Nomads prefer tall, rocky cliffs and mountains that they could jump off of, where they could be surrounded by the clouds and the wind and the sky? This place didn’t seem to have much of  _ anything. _

“This can’t be the right place,” Yzako said, sounding defeated and frustrated as Kul flew on. “We must have made a mistake.”

The dragon didn’t answer her, continuing as though he knew what he was doing. They had been flying since the day before, heading north at a relentless pace. They had stopped during the night, mostly so that Yzako could sleep on the ground without any fear of rolling off of Kul’s neck and plummeting to her death, and now that the sun was high in the sky again, they had no idea how far behind they had fallen. Kul was cutting through the clouds faster than Yzao had ever seen him travel, desperately trying to make up for lost time as if the very world depended on them reaching Zuko and the avatar. 

To be fair, it probably was. Yzako just hoped that they would find both of them alive when they reached their destination. 

“I know you’re old and all, but do you really expect me to believe that you’ve been to the Western Air Temple before?” Yzako asked. “What business would you even have there? Did you play with the sky bison or something?”

He rolled his eyes at her. 

“Fine. Don’t explain yourself.” she huffed, sighing as she laid her head against his neck. “Be mysterious if you want. It’s not like I need to know or anythi--”

The sound of a loud explosion interrupted her, and as she sat up, she saw a plume of smoke and dust rising from the ground ahead of them. No, not the ground...it looked like it was coming from  _ below _ the ground, and as Kul flapped his wings and increased his speed, Yzako saw that there was a split in the earth. A deep, narrow canyon tore through the ground, and whatever had caused the explosion was inside of it.

Kul neared the cliff’s edge and suddenly tucked his wings in close to his body, diving down into the canyon and just barely avoiding flying straight into the rocky walls. Yzako clung to his mane and squeezed her legs around him tightly, leaning in as close to his neck as she could, huddling against him and making herself as small as possible. Kul was absolutely huge, and he was perfectly capable of flying through the most terrifying storms and navigating the trickiest obstacles, but Yzako still wasn’t willing to take any chances. 

As he flew near the bottom of the canyon, though, she finally looked up, and what she saw took her breath away. 

There were buildings hanging from the underside of the cliff above them, built upside down with their roofs pointing downwards and their bases upwards. There were statues of Air Nomads carved into the stone below the structures, all of them appearing to be women, but before Yzako could get too engrossed with the architecture of the Western Air Temple, she felt the vibrations of another explosion. 

“Okay, fine, I admit it. You knew where you were going.” she said to Kul, leaning down against him again as he pushed off of the rock wall opposite the temple to gain some momentum. 

He roared in response, flaring his wings and angling himself upwards. All Yzako could do was hold on as he shot into the air, wind rushing past her face in an exhilarating way that had her smiling wider than she had in weeks. She may not have any connection to the air element the way that Aang did, but she absolutely loved the feeling of it tearing through her hair and stinging her eyes, and the freedom that it offered her. 

As another thunderous boom sounded, much closer this time, Kul flared his wings out again to pause his ascent. He was facing a terrace formed by one of the buildings’ roofs, and as Yzako squinted around the dragon’s horns, she saw a large, burly man with an ugly grimace on his face standing there. Before anyone could do anything, Kul’s jaws parted, a jet of white flames pouring out from between his teeth, hot enough that even Yzako had to lean back to avoid the feeling of it on her face. 

Though she couldn’t see them around the brightness of Kul’s fire, several horrified onlookers stood and watched as the giant golden dragon she sat atop reduced the assassin to ashes, and only one person present was happy to see her.

\---

Zuko had pursued the avatar, just like he had for years on his ship, only this time, he was flying in a war balloon instead of sailing on the sea. Aang led him to the Western Air Temple, a place he was all too familiar with, and as the survivors of the invasion all headed down to explore their new, temporary home, the former Fire Nation prince waited. He didn’t know how he wanted to approach them, and he had no idea what to say to convince them that he had no intention of harming them. How could he ever hope to be on friendly terms with the very people he had once tried to kill or capture, especially when his father was the one they were trying to save the world from? He wished he could just walk up to them and introduce himself, but even he knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. 

When they had all disappeared from sight, he landed and hid the war balloon as best he could amongst the trees, grabbing a coil of rope that he used to rappel down over the cliff. As he did so, he found himself passing a statue of Avatar Yangchen, the female Air Nomad avatar who had come a few generations before Aang, two female airbenders standing on either side of her. Zuko didn’t know much about the Western Air Temple, but he could recall his uncle telling him once that it, along with the Eastern Air Temple, had exclusively housed and trained female Air Nomads, while the North and South were reserved for the males. 

Zuko could also recall Iroh praising the architecture of the Western Temple when they had visited it together, and as he landed on the terrace in front of Avatar Yangchen, it seemed like it was only yesterday that they had stood there together. 

_ “What a stunning view,” Iroh had remarked, looking out over the canyon.  _

_ “The only view I’m interested in seeing is the avatar in chains.” Zuko had growled. Back then, his eye had yet to scar over, the wound fresh and covered in bandages. He couldn’t see at all out of his right eye, and it had hurt more than anything he had ever experienced; still, he couldn’t waste any time waiting for it to heal, and he had insisted that he and Iroh set off for the Western Air Temple as soon as possible so that he could begin his hunt for the avatar and restore his honor.  _

_ “You know, the avatar hasn’t been seen for a hundred years.” Uncle Iroh had said. “The chances of finding him here are very slim.” _

_ “First, we’ll check each of the air temples. Then we’ll scour the world, searching even the most remote locations until we find him.” Zuko had replied.  _

_ “Prince Zuko, it has only been a week since your banishment. You should take some time to heal and rest.” _

_ “What else would I expect to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation?” Zuko had snarled, turning to his uncle. “The only way to regain my honor is to find the avatar. So I will.” _

He could recall the way his uncle had sighed, turning away from his nephew to gaze at Yangchen’s statue. Zuko wished he were there now, guiding him like he always had, being the father that Ozai never was...but when he had stopped to look for him in his prison cell, he had found that Iroh had disappeared, fighting his way out in what must have been a terrifying blaze of devastating fire. No one had any idea where he had gone, and without a moment to lose, Zuko had been forced to chase after the avatar alone.

He groaned, but before he had the chance to mope any longer, his voice was drowned out by the loud, familiar bellow of the avatar’s bison. Looking up quickly, Zuko saw Appa flying along the top of the canyon, and still not ready to risk being seen, the prince took off towards a set of stairs carved into the cliffside. 

When he reached the top of them, he found a little grove of trees growing between the tops--bottoms?--of some of the temple’s structures. It seemed as good a place as any to hunker down and make camp, and once he had unpacked what few necessities he had brought with him, he realized that he had nothing to do but try to figure out how to introduce himself to the avatar. No, not introduce...Aang already knew who he was, unfortunately. Zuko needed to find a way to convince the airbender that he could be useful as a firebending teacher, no matter the cost. He could imagine that it wasn’t going to be easy in the slightest, and he wasn’t exactly good with words, and as he faced a large toad that had come hopping towards his camp, he began practicing. 

“Hello, Zuko here...but I guess you probably already know me...sort of. Uh.  _ So, _ the thing is, I have...uh...a lot of firebending experience, and I’m considered to be pretty good at it. Well. You’ve seen me. You know, uh...when I was attacking you. I guess I should apologize for that. But  _ anyway, _ I’m good now! I mean, I thought I was good before, but now I realize I was bad. But anyway, I think, uh...it’s time I joined your group. And taught the avatar firebending.”

He looked up into the face of the toad, its large, round eyes seeming unimpressed. 

“Well? What’s your answer?” he asked angrily. 

It gave a loud croak, jumped onto his head, then kicked off and disappeared into the trees. 

“Yeah, that’s what I’d say too.” Zuko sighed, his shoulders sagging. He straightened up again, looking at the tarp he had stretched between a few trees for shelter and realizing he couldn’t bear to live under it for very long. “Ugh, how am I supposed to convince these people I’m on their side? What would Uncle do?”

He thought for a moment, putting a hand behind his back while he held his chin in the other, taking a few steps forward. “ _ Zuko, you have to look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal...itself.” _

He paused, then made a loud noise of disgust and continued pacing. “Even when I’m talking for him I can’t figure out what he means. What would Azula do?”

He cleared his throat, then raised the pitch of his voice as he (poorly) mimicked his sister. “... _ Listen, avatar, I can join your group, or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends. Your choice.”  _

Zuko stopped again, then shook his head. “Yeah, that won’t exactly cut it. And Yzako...she would just say something like…”

This time, he straightened up and rolled his eyes, his hands on his hips as he used a similar, yet slightly less ridiculous, voice. “ _ Shut up, avatar. This billion-year-old fire-breathing dragon and I have a nap to go take, so hurry it up and let me join your dumb gang before the entire world falls into the hands of my boss.” _

He thought on that one for a second, giving himself a shrug. “That wasn’t too bad. I mean, it would be easier if the dragon was  _ actually _ here, but…” he shook his head and looked out towards the canyon again. The sun was beginning to set, and if he wanted to make a good impression on the avatar, he figured it should be before nightfall. “I guess I don’t have time to wait around.”

So he didn’t. When he caught sight of Appa flying towards one of the temple’s buildings, he ran towards him, and as the sky turned orange with the sunset, he found himself standing before the avatar and his friends. He tried to appear as nonthreatening as possible, remembering everything he had ever learned about posture and body language, but as he raised his hand and gave his rehearsed  _ hello, Zuko here! _ , it didn’t seem to be working. 

They looked shocked, immediately raising their weapons and fists in preparation for a fight.

“Hey, I heard you guys flying around down here, so I, uh...just thought I’d...uh…” he was fizzling out quickly, running out of things to say before he could even think of them. 

Luckily, someone came to his rescue.

Appa stepped forward, taking a moment to sniff at the prince before a massive tongue swept over Zuko’s entire side. It was even worse than being licked by Kul, the bison going so far as to make sure that he got a good taste of Zuko’s face, and while the firebender was busy rubbing saliva out of his eyes, the avatar was lowering his staff and staring at him in disbelief. 

“I know you must be surprised to see me here!” Zuko said quickly. 

“Not really, since you’ve followed us all around the world!” Sokka snapped. 

“...Right...well…uh...anyway...what I wanted to tell you was that...I’ve changed.” Zuko cleared his throat, trying not to panic. He didn’t think he was sounding very convincing so far, but he had to keep trying. “And I, uh, I’m good now. And, well, I think I should join your group.”

It was going basically as well as he had practiced with the toad, except now, his conversation partners looked much,  _ much _ angrier. They were quiet, watching him with narrowed eyes as if waiting for him to attack. Honestly, that was probably pretty smart of them. 

“O-oh! A-and I can teach you firebending!” he blurted out, trying to remember every useful point he had come up with. “See, I--”

“You wanna  _ what?” _ Toph asked. 

“You can’t possibly think that any of us would trust you.” Katara spat. “I mean, how stupid do you think we are?”

“Yeah, all you’ve ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!” Sokka agreed. 

“I’ve done some good things!” Zuko argued. “I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That’s something.”

Appa gave his back another lick, and it took all of Zuko’s control not to shriek in horror at the feeling. 

“Appa  _ does _ seem to like him,” Toph said. 

“He probably just covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him” Sokka growled. “I’m not buying it. As far as we know, he and Yzako are working for the Fire Lord.”

At the mention of both his lover and his father, Zuko sighed and looked down at the ground. “I can understand why you wouldn’t trust me, and I know I’ve made some mistakes in the past.”

“Like when you attacked our village?” Sokka asked. 

“Or when you stole my mother’s necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?” Katara hissed. 

“Look. I’ve done some awful things. It was wrong to try and capture you. And I’m sorry that I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you. I’m gonna try to stop h--”

“Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?” Sokka interrupted, pointing his boomerang at Zuko. 

“Well, that’s not his name, but--”

“Oh,  _ sorry, _ I didn’t mean to insult your  _ friend.” _

“He’s not my friend!”

“That guy locked me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!” Toph yelled. 

Zuko just let out another sigh and looked at Aang. “Why aren’t you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends. You know I have good in me.”

Aang paused, looking between his former enemy and his friends. Sokka shook his head, Katara standing with her eyes narrowed and an angry expression on her face. Toph was ready to send Zuko flying over the edge of the cliff, and it looked like Appa was the only one who liked the Fire Nation prince. Unfortunately, the vote of one sky bison wasn’t going to be enough to convince the avatar that Zuko was telling the truth, or that he deserved to join their group. 

“There’s no way that we can trust you after everything you’ve done.” Aang said, his mouth pressed into an angry line. “We’ll never let you join us.”

Zuko stared at him in shock. He had thought that Aang would be the reasonable one, the easiest to convince. 

“You need to get out of here.” Katara growled. “Now.”

The prince’s lip raised in a sneer, but he kept his voice level. “I’m trying to explain to you that I’m not that person anymore!”

“Either you leave, or we attack you.” Sokka took a few steps forward, his voice heavy with anger and his eyes full of malice. 

“...If you won’t accept me as a friend, then maybe you’ll take me as a prisoner.” Zuko dropped to his knees, his hands up in surrender. That had to mean something to them, didn’t it? The crown prince willingly lowering himself to these commoners?

“No, we won’t!” Katara snarled, whipping the water from the pouch on her hip out towards him. “Get out of here, and don’t come back!”

It hit him with enough force to knock him back, and as the prince pushed himself up off the ground, he was staring up into the face of the angry waterbender. 

“If we ever see you again...well, we’d better not see you again!” she yelled. 

Zuko knew when he had been defeated, and without another word, he stood up and retreated, half expecting one of them to attack him while his back was turned. He made it to camp unscathed, though, and without anyone else to talk to, he found himself venting to that same friendly toad once more. 

“I can’t believe how stupid I am!” he yelled, pacing back and forth. “I mean, what was I  _ thinking? _ Telling them I sent an  _ assassin  _ after them? Why didn’t I just say  _ Azula _ did that? They would have believed that!”

The toad gave a croak, and Zuko dropped to his knees with a loud groan. 

“Why isn’t Yzako here?” he sighed, rolling over to lay on his back. “She would know what to say. She  _ always _ knows what to say. They would have accepted her help no problem!”

The toad jumped down, landing on his chest and pushing all the air out of his lungs. He yelled in surprise, but didn’t move, melodramatically accepting his fate. 

“I hope she’s okay.” he said quietly. “She should be here by now. She said she would give me a head start, but...what if my father didn’t let her go? What if he’s punishing her?”

The toad croaked, and Zuko sighed again. “Yeah, I know. She’s tough. This would just...be so much easier if she was here with me.”

The toad gave a loud ribbit and hopped off of him, allowing the prince to stand. Having nothing better to do than talk with this amphibian, he did exactly that, treating it as if it were actually listening to him while he gathered wood for a campfire. 

“She’s incredible.” he said as he broke up a few fallen branches. “She’s the most powerful firebender in the world, and I know that because...well, because everyone says my father is, and I’m pretty sure she could beat him in a fair fight.. She’s so ruthless, and she tried to kill me once, but...she’s also the kindest, most compassionate person I’ve ever met. She’s been through so much and she’s experienced more pain and suffering than I think she’ll ever tell me about, and yet somehow, she still tries to stay strong and do what’s right, even though she’s become the Fire Lord’s greatest tool of destruction. I don’t know how she does it.”

He tossed the branches down and went back towards the trees to gather more. “She has this huge dragon spirit that’s stuck to her, and he kind of...gives her his strength. Or something. I guess.”

The toad seemed unimpressed.

“What, that isn’t good enough for you?” Zuko picked up a few more slender branches. “It’s good enough for the Fire Lord. You think you’re better than him?”

The animal croaked.

“...yeah, you probably are.” Zuko carried the kindling back to his camp, tossing it down with the rest before he sat in the grass next to it. “You know, my whole life, I thought I had been doing something wrong. I thought  _ I  _ was the reason my father didn’t show me any care or compassion. I guess I see now that that isn’t the case.”

With a sigh, he let a small flame escape his outstretched hand, lighting the campfire. It wasn’t long before he was asleep, huddling under a small blanket and wishing that he was with Yzako in their big, comfortable bed in the palace. This was more important than that, though; whining about his sleeping arrangements hardly seemed noteworthy at a time like this. The avatar needed his help, whether he wanted it or not, and he was going to have to see that sooner rather than later if they were going to defeat the Fire Lord before the comet came. 

Zuko was dreaming of Yzako when the sound of an intruder woke him. He heard the crunch of footsteps in the underbrush, and without a second thought, he was sitting up, waving his arm defensively as a large orange flame arched out into the darkness.

“Stay back!” He snarled.

“It’s me!” A familiar voice yelled. 

Zuko heard the sound of earth being pushed up from the ground, shielding someone from his fire, but by the time he realized that it was only Toph who had entered his camp, it was too late. She stepped back into the edge of the flames that had rushed around her, the soles of her feet burning as she stumbled.

“You burned my feet!” She shrieked, falling onto her back.

“I’m sorry!” Zuko jumped up. “It was a mistake! I—“

“Get away!” She yelled, scrambling backwards. 

“Let me help you!” He followed after her, dodging the rocks she tossed in his direction as she crawled on her hands and knees. “I’m sorry!”

When he reached for her shoulder, she spun around, a rock jutting out of the ground and hitting him in the chest. He flew through the air, landing several feet away with a painful thud. 

“I didn’t know it was you!” He called after her. “Come back!”

Toph didn’t stop, scurrying away through the foliage. When it became clear that he was alone again, Zuko yelled out angrily, frustrated with himself for what felt like the hundredth time that day. 

“Why am I so bad at being good?” He shouted, his voice echoing around the grove.

He didn’t receive any answer, of course, and as he crawled back into his makeshift shelter, he found himself wishing that Yzako was there with him yet again. 

The next day, his wish was granted.

The assassin Zuko had hired so long ago, or  _ Combustion Man,  _ as Sokka had called him, really was good at what he did. Despite everything, Zuko had stuck around, keeping an eye on the avatar and his friends from above, and at the first sound of explosions, he had gone running towards the source. 

“Stop!” He yelled, meeting the big, tattooed man on a terrace. “I don’t want you hunting the avatar anymore! The mission is off!”

The assassin shoved him aside easily, the third eye tattoo on his forehead seeming to glint in the daylight as he caused another explosion with his mind. 

“If you keep attacking, I won’t pay you!” Zuko ran at him again, his arm engulfed in fire as he prepared himself for a fight.

The man caught him with a hand on his chest, holding him back at an arm’s length. 

“Alright, fine! I’ll pay you double to stop!” The prince yelled as he struggled against him.

The assassin shoved him away again, but this time, he turned toward the prince. With an angry grunt, he prepared himself, inhaling sharply before aiming an explosion at his former employer.

Zuko blocked it with a wall of flame, but the force pushed him back over the edge of the terrace. His arms flailed in front of him blindly, and the second his fingers came in contact with something, he grabbed hold. The prince clung as hard as he could to a thick root, hardly able to believe his luck as he hung there. He could hear the sound of explosions as  _ Combustion Man  _ pursued his target, blast after blast sending debris flying down over the edge of the cliff. The longer they continued, the longer the avatar was proving to stay alive, and for the first time in his life, Zuko was happy about that. 

Suddenly, he felt a rush of wind and he was being swept up by something warm. Zuko felt what he could only describe as massive talons closing around his torso, and when he looked up, his face broke into a smile. A huge, golden dragon had snatched him up in its claws, fire blazing from its jaws and engulfing Combustion Man in a tornado of flame until he was nothing more than ash and a couple of metal limbs. 

Zuko had never thought he would be so happy to be so uncomfortable. 

Kul roared, clutching him tightly as he slowly lowered himself down to the avatar and his friends. He let the prince go unceremoniously, loosening his grip and dropping him onto the hard bricks of the upside down temple’s courtyard before touching down fully.

“Watch where you step, chicken lizard!” Zuko growled, dodging out of the way of one of Kul’s feet as he landed.

“Happy to see you, too,” Yzako’s face popped out from Kul’s mane. 

Aang, Sokka, and Katara ran forward, staring in horror at the spot where Combustion Man had stood only moments before. They were speechless, trying to decide whether they were glad to see Yzako or not as she slipped down from her seat on the dragon’s neck. 

She was hardly paying them any mind, grabbing Zuko’s arms and checking him over for any signs of serious injury. They would have found it endearing, the way she was fussing over him...except that it was  _ him,  _ and she was  _ her,  _ and as always, they couldn’t tell which side of the war she was on. 

“I leave you alone for  _ one day  _ and you’re getting exploded!” Yzako said, chastising Zuko. 

He rolled his eyes. “I’m  _ fine.” _

“Yeah, thanks to  _ us.”  _ She huffed. “When you said you were going to find the avatar, I didn’t realize that meant you were going to  _ immediately  _ put your life at risk. I would have gotten here sooner if I knew.”

“I’m fine, Yzako.” Zuko repeated, his grumpy expression giving way to a small smile as he held her forearms. He was just glad to finally see her safe and sound.

Kul suddenly stepped forward, shoving Yzako aside to push his snout into Zuko’s arms with a happy trill. 

“Yeah, yeah. Glad to see you too.” Zuko grumbled as the dragon licked the side of his face. 

Kul made a move to push the human to the ground so that he could try to play with him, but Yzako stopped him with a sharp  _ cut it out _ that had him flopping down on the ground like a child who had just been reprimanded. He laid his head down and sighed melodramatically, blowing enough steam and smoke out of his nose that Sokka had to wave it away as he approached.

“Okay,  _ what  _ are  _ you  _ doing here?” He asked suspiciously, boomerang in hand. 

“Saving all of you,  _ apparently,”  _ Yzako replied, facing him with a hand on her hip. “Who was that guy, anyway? Didn’t get a very good look at him.”

“Do you just blindly attack anything that moves?” Sokka asked, brandishing his weapon towards Kul. 

“You know, a little  _ thank you  _ would be appreciated.” Yzako said.

“Oh, no way.” Sokka’s eyes were narrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

“You know, I could have killed you on the Day of Black Sun!” Yzako snapped. 

“Oh, so we’re supposed to be  _ grateful?”  _ Sokka asked. “You want an award for not being completely terrible for once or something?”

“Guys, come on.” Aang interrupted tiredly, leaning on his staff. “We’ve seen and done enough fighting lately.”

“Aang, do you really think they’re here to  _ help  _ us at this point?” Katara asked skeptically. “This is what they  _ do.  _ They get under your skin and act all buddy-buddy with you and then the second you turn your back, they  _ betray you.” _

She was glaring pointedly at Zuko. The prince shrank back, trying to avoid her gaze, training his eyes down towards the ground instead. He shifted his weight awkwardly, one hand moving to rub the back of his neck. 

Yzako watched, looking back and forth between Zuko and the others. She could see Toph sitting down on a rock behind her allies, the earthbender staying unusually quiet, and a few curious faces Yzako didn’t recognize peeking out from around a pillar. Was this all that was left of the avatar’s invasion forces? A few ragtag teenagers and young adults holed up in an abandoned temple? 

“Look, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but...thanks. Both of you.” Aang said.

“Hey, what about  _ me?”  _ Sokka asked. “I did the boomerang thing—“

“Listen.” Zuko interrupted, walking towards them. “I know I didn’t explain myself very well yesterday. I’ve been through a lot in the past few years, and it’s been...hard. But I’m realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought that I had lost my honor, and that somehow, my father could return it to me.”

Yzako took a few steps after him, reaching for his hand as he spoke. Zuko took her fingers in his, lacing them together and giving her a squeeze as he continued to face the avatar. 

“But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what’s right.”

They all still looked unforgiving, Katara especially, but Yzako, on the other hand, was finding herself having to blink away a few tears. Zuko’s words sounded heavy to her, in a way that no one else there besides him would understand. 

“All we want now is to play our part in ending this war.” He said, looking down at Yzako before his gaze traveled back up to make eye contact with Aang. “And  _ I  _ know that my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world.”

The avatar’s harsh expression was beginning to change, his brows raising in what might have been pity, or empathy. He looked down, away from Zuko, as if trying to decide what to do with this sudden unexpected turn of events. He definitely hadn’t thought that he would ever be able to consider Zuko or Yzako real allies,  _ especially  _ after what happened in Ba Sing Se...but now, here they were, acting like they really,  _ truly  _ wanted to help. 

Zuko dropped Yzako’s hand so that he could bow to Toph. “I’m sorry for what I did to you. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending so I don’t hurt people unintentionally.”

Yzako raised an eyebrow, but she knew this wasn’t the time to start asking questions about what she had missed.

At the sound of Zuko’s words, Aang looked up at him again. “I think...you  _ are  _ supposed to be my teacher.”

Sokka’s jaw dropped.

“When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara.” Aang explained, stepping forward. “After that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love.” The avatar raised his fist to the bottom of his opposite palm, bending at the waist in a bow. “I’d like you to teach me.”

Yzako took a step back as Zuko bowed to Aang again. “Thank you. I’m so glad you’ve accepted me into your group—“

“Not so fast.” Aang cut him off. “I still have to ask my friends if it’s okay with them.” He turned to look back. “Toph, you’re the one Zuko burned. What do you think?”

“Go ahead and let ‘im join.” She shrugged. “It’ll gimme plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet.”

Yzako shot him a glare, and Zuko only responded with an awkward, sheepish shrug. 

“Sokka?” Aang asked.

“Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord.” He sighed. “If you think this is the way to do it, then...I’m all for it.”

Aang smiled and nodded before turning to the last of his friends. “Katara?”

She was glaring daggers at Zuko. “I’ll go along with whatever you think is right.”

“We won’t let you down,” Zuko finally smiled. 

“Whoa,  _ we?”  _ Sokka asked. “I thought that fire breathing monster was just here to collect  _ you.” _

“Would it kill you to be less rude?” Yzako snapped, nostrils flaring angrily.

“Would it kill  _ you  _ to stop trying to kill  _ us?”  _ He shot back.

“I have never  _ once  _ even come  _ close  _ to—“

“What  _ are  _ you doing here, Yzako?” Katara cut in angrily. 

She leaned back towards Zuko with a huff. “The Fire Lord thinks I’m hunting Zuko down. That’s why I had to give him a head start to come and find you guys on his own.”

Aang frowned. “So...you’re still working for him?”

“No!” Her anger quickly melted and she sighed, reaching for Zuko’s hand again. “Look, I’m risking a lot by being here, but I—Kul and I both—want to help.”

“Why?” Katara asked. “So you can spy on us? So you can murder us in our sleep?”

“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t waste my time waiting for you to fall asleep.” 

Kul raised his head, a low growl rumbling from his throat in agreement.

“Zuko’s destiny is to restore balance.” Yzako said. “Mine is...I don’t know what mine is, but it isn’t all of  _ that.”  _ She waved her hand in the general direction of the capital city. “I want to help. I want to do the right thing.”

They were all quiet for a moment, glancing at each other. 

“I could learn some firebending tips from a  _ dragon!”  _ Aang’s face suddenly split into a wide grin.

“Well...it’s not like she’s going to just give up Zuko,” Sokka shrugged. “We’re kind of stuck with them both now.”

“Yeah, I always kinda liked this chick,” Toph nodded. “And this way, I can beat them  _ both  _ up.”

Katara remained silent, her eyes narrowed. Yzako caught her gaze and returned the glare, her lip raising in a sneer. Before anything else could be said, the waterbender turned on her heel and left, marching away into the nearest building. Zuko’s grip on Yzako’s hand kept her in place, a sharp squeeze telling her that she needed to stay put instead of following in search of a fight. 

The others all headed inside as well, Sokka pausing to pick Toph up and carry her. Zuko leaned down to kiss Yzako’s cheek before running off to pack up his camp, and soon, she was left with the three strangers she had caught watching from a distance. 

“So, uh…” the first came creeping out from their hiding place. He was a young man in Earth Kingdom clothing, half of his long, dark hair up in a topknot.

Yzako turned towards him sharply, her eyes narrow and distrusting. “Who are you?”

“Oh, uh, sorry!” He put his hands up in surrender. “I’m Haru. This is The Duke, and Teo.”

The other two emerged from behind the pillar, and Yzako was surprised by what she saw. One was small, clearly a child, wearing an overly-sized army helmet and a tiny uniform. The other was a teenage boy, his legs bound together in bandages while he sat in some kind of wheeled chair. They certainly weren’t a pair she would expect to find amongst the invasion forces, but, well...who really was?

“I’m...Yzako,” she said, suddenly feeling awkward. It felt like it had been ages since she spoke to normal, non-palace people, and she wasn’t sure how to do it anymore. “They call me the, uh...Golden Dragon. Of the Fire Nation.”

“Yeah, we’ve heard of you.” Teo said, glancing at his companions.

“I’m sure you have.” Yzako said bitterly.

“Is that a  _ real  _ dragon?” The Duke asked, pointing at Kul.

“Huh?” Yzako glanced at her companion. “What else would he be?”

“I dunno!” The Duke huffed indignantly. “I’ve never seen one!”

“Nobody has.”

“Then why do  _ you _ have one?”

“Because it’s my job!” she was beginning to grow irritated with this child. 

“Don’t mind The Duke,” Teo laughed. “He’s just curious. We all are, honestly. I mean, we’ve all heard of you, like I said...we just never thought we’d get the chance to talk with you like this.”

“What have you heard, exactly?” Yzako asked, crossing her arms and shifting her weight onto her back foot.

“J-just that you’re the Golden Dragon and that we would have to watch out for you during the invasion!” Haru said quickly. 

She snorted and a little puff of steam left her nostrils. Well, they weren’t  _ wrong. _ They were right to see her as a threat, because as far as they were concerned, she was. Did she want to explain herself to all of these people? Did she want to try to convince them that she didn’t mean any harm, when they had seen her cause so much destruction in the past? She didn’t even know if it would be worth the energy. It seemed like it would be futile, and a waste of everybody’s time. 

Before she could wonder about it any longer, she heard the sound of Zuko’s boots approaching. Well, at least she would be able to settle down in what was hopefully a comfortable bed, and see Uncle Iroh, whom she had assumed would be joining the prince.

Except that when she turned, Zuko was alone. 

Yzako furrowed her brows in confusion. “Where’s--”

“Oh, good, you’re back.” Sokka interrupted, poking his head out of the temple archway he had disappeared into with Toph. “Come on. We’ve, uh, got a room. For you guys.”

Zuko seemed oblivious to Yzako’s expression, approaching her and taking her hand. Kul followed behind them, ducking his head as he tried to squeeze into the hallway. When his horns hit the ceiling, though, he let out an angry whine, stopping Yzako in her tracks.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, you big baby.”

Sokka and Zuko paused, looking back just in time to see Kul as he roared at her. 

“You two go ahead, I’ll catch up,” Yzako said over her shoulder as the dragon began throwing a tantrum. “Hey, come on, you’re just tired—“

Zuko frowned, wanting to stay behind and...and what, help her? Or something? He didn’t know the first thing about calming Kul down, but he felt like he should learn. If he wanted to have a future with Yzako after this war was over—which he did—then he should figure out how to take care of the emotional needs of a spirit dragon, right? 

She was preoccupied, though, and Sokka was waiting impatiently, so the prince chose to follow his new comrade. Yzako was barely paying attention to them anyways, pushing Kul back out of the doorway and stroking his nose while she desperately tried to hush him. The dragon was beside himself, throwing his head from side to side while he roared and shrieked like a child refusing to take a nap, upset at the thought of having to forego his physical form so soon after meeting up with everyone else.

“I know, I know,” Yzako murmured, stroking his snout as he gave a melancholy groan. “The Air Nomads didn’t design this place with dragons in mind, and sky bison just don’t like going indoors as much as you do.”

He laid down, huffing angrily. 

“If you don’t want to sleep, why don’t you go find Appa and make friends with him?” Yzako suggested. 

Kul considered her words. 

“I’m sure he would love to get to know you.” 

The dragon slowly warmed up to the idea, and after a few more minutes of convincing, he was trotting off in search of the avatar’s companion. Yzako watched him go and let out a relieved sigh, turning on her heel quickly and running into the ball Sokka and Zuko had disappeared into. She followed the sound of a voice, quickening her pace as her lips grew into a smile, but as she grew closer, she realized that it belonged to Katara, and she sounded anything but friendly. 

Yzako rounded a corner and slowed to a stop. The waterbender was standing in a doorway up ahead, glaring into a room. Her body language was hostile, shoulders stiff while she held her arms folded over her chest, and as Yzako listened, she found herself growing angry with the girl’s words.

“You might have everyone else here buying your  _ transformation,  _ but you and I both know you’ve struggled with doing the right thing in the past.” She hissed, stepping into the room and disappearing from view. 

Yzako’s eyes narrowed and she tiptoed through the hall, staying as silent as possible. When she reached the doorway, she saw Katara standing with her back to her, glowering at Zuko.

“Let me tell you something right now.” Katara growled, stepping up to him. “You make one step backward, one slip up, give me  _ one _ good reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won’t have to worry about your destiny anymore.”

Zuko’s face was falling more and more with every word. His eyes were trained on Katara, his mouth cast downward in a frown. He looked almost nauseous, as if he were going to be sick, and truth be told, his stomach was churning unpleasantly. He was  _ trying.  _ Katara had no idea what he had gone through to even get to the temple, and while he may not deserve a warm welcome, he didn’t deserve  _ this. _

Yzako could see how uncomfortable he was, how vulnerable he suddenly seemed, and she could feel anger flaring inside of her chest. 

“I’ll make sure your destiny  _ ends.  _ Right then and there.  _ Permanently.”  _ Katara snarled at him.

“Katara.” Yzako snapped. 

She jumped, turning quickly to see her there in the doorway. 

“Leave him alone.”

“The same goes for you,  _ Yzako.”  _ She walked towards her. “I don’t trust you.  _ Either  _ of you.”

“Threaten him one more time, and you won’t have to worry about who you trust anymore.” Yzako sneered, stepping into the room. 

Katara’s nostrils flared angrily, but she continued walking, her shoulder knocking into Yzako’s as she passed. She left without another word, refusing to spare the firebenders another glance, and when Yzako moved to go after her, Zuko caught her arm.

“No. Let her go.” He said quietly.

“She threatened your life!” Yzako protested.

“I deserved it.”

“She can’t speak to you that way.”

“She can speak however she wants.” He sighed, letting go of her and sinking down onto the small bed in the corner. “I knew this wouldn’t be easy. They have a right to hate me.”

Yzako was still considering hunting Katara down and making her eat her words, but as she saw how tired Zuko seemed, she realized she would much rather stay with him. 

“So, this is our new room, huh?” She changed their subject, trying to lighten the mood, for the sake of her own temper. “It’s...quaint.”

“It’s boring.” Zuko wrinkled his nose. “The Air Nomads weren’t exactly interior designers.”

Yzako looked around. The room was literally empty, aside from the bed in the corner and the few things Zuko had already unpacked. A few windows were cut into the wall opposite the door, allowing the golden light from the setting sun to stream in, but other than that it was all plain stone. Four walls and a floor. Nothing more, nothing less. 

It was a far cry from the opulence of the palace. 

“Well, it beats sleeping on the ground, I guess.” She sat down next to Zuko, eyes raking over the items he had begun setting out before Katara came in to terrorize him. Her gaze settled on a framed portrait of Uncle Iroh, and she glanced up at Zuko. “Where is he? I thought you were going to get him out of prison.”

“He wasn’t there.” 

She stared at him for a moment. “He _ what?” _

“He broke out on his own. Fought past the guards and everything.” Zuko closed his eyes. “All I want is the chance to apologize, but he had to go off and  _ disappear.” _

Yzako flopped onto her back. “At least he’s not stuck in there anymore.”

He sucked in a deep breath. “I need to focus on helping the avatar now. Uncle is...doing whatever he’s doing. I need to trust that he’s safe.”

“We.” Yzako sat up again. “ _ We  _ need to focus on the avatar.”

Zuko looked at her. His eyes were tired, but grateful, a small smile on his face. “I love you. You know that?”

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.” She grinned, taking his hand and leaning in towards him for a kiss.

A low growl and a sudden heat from the windows made them both pause and look up. Kul was staring in at them, one big eye visible as he sat just on the other side of the wall. 

“And Kul is here to help too.” Yzako said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Zuko chuckled, leaning his forehead against hers. 

In the morning, he would wake up at dawn and begin the avatar’s firebending training, but tonight, he was going to stay in bed, hold Yzako, and try not to let the rest of the world worry him too much. 


	79. Firebending Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHh I am so sorry I took so long to update this! I've been struggling a ton and that seasonal depression is HITTIN lol. I tried to make this chapter longer to make up for it! The next one should definitely be posting sooner rather than later, since I've got inspiration and I am RUNNING with it lmao. Thanks to everybody who comments! I love reading them, and it's always really great motivation to keep writing <3

While Zuko slept peacefully, happy about his new position as Aang’s firebending teacher, Yzako was plagued by nightmares. She tossed and turned next to him, trapped in and endless cycle of fire and blood that she couldn’t manage to escape. She saw the leering faces of Ozai and Azula, teeth elongated into fangs as they sneered at her, and the burning shapes of Zuko and Min and Iroh and everyone else she cared about. She could feel the sting of a whip on her back, her vision blurred by the blood in her eyes, and by the time dawn finally came and Zuko was getting up to go train Aang, Yzako was ready to give up on sleep. 

“Are you okay?” He asked with a frown as she trudged out of the room behind him. 

She mumbled a response, rubbing at her tired eyes. 

“You’re never up this early if you don’t have to be.” Zuko paused and turned to face her. “What’s wrong?”

Yzako shrugged. “Bad dreams.”

His frown deepened. “About what?”

She gave another listless little shrug and he sighed, putting an arm around her and squeezing her up against his side. He knew better than to pry, and she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. It was all too easy to imagine how horrifying her nightmares were, especially when his own were so bad, and as they walked out of the temple and were greeted by the rising sun, Zuko found himself glad that he wouldn’t have to think about bad dreams for a while. Training Aang would probably be hard enough to keep him distracted. 

A screech drew his attention and he saw Kul running towards them in a flurry of claws and whiskers, smoke billowing from his nostrils as he skidded to a stop just in front of Yzako. The dragon looked concerned, growling and grumbling as if he were fussing over her, his long whiskers reaching around to make sure that she was okay. Whatever had happened in her nightmares must have been bad enough to alert him, and as Zuko stepped aside to give the two more space, he saw Yzako lean forward to hug Kul’s snout. 

He had never seen her look quite so...downtrodden? Serious? He wasn’t sure exactly what emotion she was conveying, but it wasn’t a positive one. Her fingers were wrapping in the fur under Kul’s chin, her eyes squeezed shut as if she could block out the entire world. As far as Zuko was concerned, she could; he wasn’t about to bother her any longer, and now that she was safe with her dragon, he knew she was in good hands. Or...claws. Or paws. Or whatever.

Not wanting to intrude, he turned away, walking towards the courtyard he was supposed to be meeting Aang in. He found the avatar already there, sitting with his legs crossed and his fists together as he looked at Zuko with bright eyes and a huge smile. 

Well, at least he was eager. 

When he caught sight of Zuko, though, Aang’s smile faltered slightly. He looked anxious, as if actually beginning his training was scarier than only thinking about it. When Zuko heard loud footsteps behind him and turned to see Kul and Yzako walking up, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were part of what was making Aang so worried, too. 

“Avatar.” he put his fist to the heel of his other hand and bowed as he reached Aang. 

“Teacher.” Aang replied, hopping to his feet and returning the bow. “I mean, Zuko. I-I mean, sifu. A-and Kul, and Yzako too--”

“Relax.” Yzako said as she and Kul walked towards the ledge, both sitting down to watch. “We’re just spectating.”

Her words did little to comfort Aang. He gulped, even more anxious now that he knew he had an audience, and gave a quick nod. 

Zuko rolled his eyes, stopping himself from letting out a noise of annoyance. “Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Aang said, standing up straight. 

“I know you’re nervous, but remember, firebending in and of itself isn’t something to fear.” the prince said, trying to sound as friendly and encouraging as possible. 

Aang sighed. “Okay. Not...something to fear.”

Zuko crossed his arms over his chest. “But if you don’t  _ respect _ it, it’ll chew you up and spit you out like an angry komodo rhino.”

Aang flinched back, eyes wide.

“Now, show me what you’ve got.” Zuko narrowed his eyes. “Any amount of fire you can make.”

The avatar let out his breath before taking a deep inhale, stepping to the side and thrusting his hand out before him. Zuko expected to see at least a small flame, something,  _ anything, _ but instead, there was only a tiny, pathetic puff of smoke. 

The prince couldn’t believe his eyes. This? This was as far as the avatar had gotten with his training? That couldn’t be right. He had said that he burned Katara before. There had to be  _ some _ firebending ability inside him, or else he wouldn’t be the  _ avatar. _

Aang tried to grin sheepishly at him. “Maybe I need a little more instruction...perhaps a demonstration?”

“Good idea.” Zuko agreed. “But...take a couple steps back.”

As the avatar backed up against a wall, Zuko turned to make sure Yzako was watching. He wanted the chance to show off for her, because  _ of course he did, _ and he was pleased to see that both she and Kul were looking at him expectantly. He couldn’t let down his adoring fans, could he? Maybe seeing some good firebending would help cheer Yzako up, too. 

He smirked for a moment before his expression became serious, quickly chasing it away again with a deep inhale. He chose a simple movement, a technique he had practiced and performed hundreds--maybe even  _ thousands-- _ of times before, one he  _ knew _ would result in a huge flame leaving his hand, but as he punched out into the air, he was shocked by what he saw. 

Yzako let out a loud laugh. The little wisp of fire that Zuko had produced was the kind of thing one would expect to see a child making when they first began firebending, and she knew for a fact that the prince was more than capable of something significantly more spectacular. Kul chuckled next to her as he watched, the low coughing sound rumbling through his throat. Humans were so entertaining sometimes. 

“What was  _ that?” _ Zuko straightened up, staring down at his hands in disbelief. What had just happened? Everything felt right, like normal, and he knew he had performed his movements correctly, so what the  _ fuck _ was going on?

Aang was clapping, at least. 

“That was the worst firebending I’ve ever seen!” Zuko snarled at himself. 

“I thought it was...nice?” Aang offered. 

Zuko whirled around, punching at the air a few more times. The results were all the same--tiny, pathetic little flames, the likes of which he hadn’t seen himself create since he was a  _ kid. _ What was  _ happening  _ to him? He had been bending like normal just the other day! And it wasn’t like there was a  _ second _ once in a lifetime solar eclipse happening all of the sudden...right? 

He glanced up at the sky. Yeah, no, there definitely wasn’t anything suspicious going on up there. 

“Why is this happening?” he growled. 

“Maybe it’s the altitude,” Aang said. 

Zuko glanced at him, embarrassment setting in as he remembered that people were watching him. “...yeah. Could be.”

It was a lie, and everyone there knew it. 

As he tried again and again, Yzako looked at Kul. His big eye slid towards her and he slowly lowered his head to brush his nose over her hair, his lip swishing back and forth. 

“What’s up with Zuko?” Yzako asked. If anybody there would have an idea as to why the prince of the Fire Nation was having so much trouble with something that usually came naturally to him, she figured it would be the giant ancient dragon she was using as a couch. 

Kul made a warbling sound, abandoning her hair to look out towards Zuko. He tilted his head slightly as he watched, taking in the sight of the little human and his little flames. Maybe Zuko had simply forgotten? Kul could remember teaching the people back home on his island, and they needed  _ constant _ reminders sometimes. 

With a loud grumble, the dragon raised his head, his chest heating up suddenly. Zuko froze as he saw Kul’s jaws part, and just as he expected, massive,  _ hot _ white flames came pouring out, powerful and devastating, just like always. 

Great. So it really  _ was _ just him. 

Kul closed his mouth again, looking at Zuko expectantly. 

“I don’t need you to teach me, you know,” the prince snapped. 

The dragon gave him a skeptical look and Yzako snorted in amusement, standing up. “Apparently you  _ do.” _

“This isn’t funny!” he protested, stepping forward and thrusting his arms out again. “Just breathe, and... _ fuck!” _

“That one kind of felt hot,” Aang said, perking up again. 

“Don’t patronize me!” Zuko yelled. “You  _ know _ what it’s supposed to look like!”

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman,” the avatar apologized. 

“Stop calling me that!”

Aang cringed back. He didn’t know what exactly he had expected from Zuko, but his temper was definitely still in line with the one the avatar was familiar with. 

“Hey, jerks,” 

Their heads all swiveled to see Sokka approaching them, a piece of fruit in his hand as he sat down. 

“Mind if I watch you  _ jerks _ do your  _ jerk _ bending?” he asked, a shit eating grin on his face as he took a bite. 

“Get out of here!” Zuko snarled.

“Okay, take it easy!” Sokka stood again, tossing his fruit off into the bushes and chuckling to himself as he left. “I was just kiddin’ around.  _ Jerk _ bending...that’s a good one!”

“ _ Ugh!” _ Zuko bent at the waist, hanging his head. 

“Okay, what exactly is going on with you?” Yzako asked, taking a few steps forward. “This was funny at first, but now I’m kind of worried.”

“Gee,  _ thanks,”  _ he said sarcastically. 

“Is it...too...cold?” Aang asked. “Kul could breathe fire, but maybe that’s just because he’s a dragon...or...something. Does he run hotter, or something?”

Yzako looked at him. “It’s definitely not too cold. If we can firebend at the North Pole, we can do it here.”

Zuko sighed. “You’re right. I don’t know what it is...I feel exactly the same as I always have, but I just--I can’t-- _ ugh!” _ He let out a loud noise of disgust as he failed to produce the impressive arc of fire that he wanted to yet again. “This never happens!”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Yzako said, patting his arm. “This probably happens to everybody at least once in a while.”

“Not to me!”

“Well...can  _ you _ firebend right now, Yzako?” Aang asked. 

“I mean, I think so,” she took several steps back, giving herself enough space to bend without burning either of them. It wasn’t something she normally had to worry about, but  _ normally, _ Zuko was able to take care of himself and bend away any stray flames. Right now, she wasn’t even sure if he could do that much. 

She took a deep breath, centering herself before jumping forward and using her momentum to help direct the fire out of her body. It flowed through her, igniting once it left her fingertips and reached the air. Just as she expected, her signature white flames exploded out, beautiful swirls of fire that were hot enough for Aang to feel on his face even from several lengths away. 

As cranky as Zuko was, he had to admit that Yzako’s bending was beautiful. There was something poetic about it, as there always had been, something he didn’t see in many other people. The way she moved so fluidly, as if she were dancing, the way she seemed to be so in tune with her own fire...she never forced it, never had to push or pull for her sparks to ignite. Zuko had witnessed plenty of different firebenders throughout his life, at every level from beginner to master, and none of them had ever exhibited the kind of grace that Yzako did. Maybe he was biased, but there was something so inherently  _ beautiful _ about her bending, something so inhumanly graceful. 

As he watched her step her way through a few more movements, his eyes narrowed. Why  _ was _ she so good? It was because of Kul, he had always assumed. Everything he had ever heard about Yzako, and everything she had ever told him herself, led him to believe that Kul was the one who had taught her. Before he was able to hold his physical form like this, when he was busy napping and curling up around her soul, his spirit had flowed through her veins and directed her firebending until it had become muscle memory for her.  _ He  _ was the source of so much of her power,  _ he _ was the true firebending master. Yzako was formidable on her own, Zuko was sure of it, but Kul was the reason she was so incredibly powerful and unbridled. She moved with the confidence and grace of a dragon, and as he watched her continuing her warm up practice, he couldn’t help the jealousy that he felt rising in his chest. 

“ _ Wow!” _ Aang exclaimed, his eyes wide. “You’re amazing, Yzako!”

She completed a roundhouse kick, flames shooting out from the sole of her foot. Despite how fancy she was making everything look, she wasn’t entirely satisfied with it. The foreboding feelings left over from her nightmares were messing with her, making her doubt herself, and though she was doing a lot better than Zuko was, she could tell that there was something off with her own bending. “Just making sure I’ve still got it.”

Zuko snorted angrily, his arms crossed over his chest. “Yeah, whatever…”

Yzako paused, standing up straight and looking at him. “You sure you feel okay? There’s definitely nothing weird going on to mess with our bending--”

“I’m fine!” he bristled. 

“Do you wanna just hang out with Kul? Maybe he can--”

“I don’t need any help!” Zuko snapped.

Aang side stepped away from him, wary of the angry prince, but Yzako only put her hands on her hips and faced him down. “Don’t get mad at  _ me. _ Just because  _ you _ can’t perform doesn’t mean--”

“Don’t talk about it like that!” 

“What? I’m just saying that I can still have a good time while you--”

“Do  _ not!” _

Yzako put her hands up in surrender. “Yeesh, sorry…”

Zuko was fuming, his hands balled into fists while his shoulders heaved with every angry breath he took. “I don’t understand what’s  _ wrong.” _

“Maybe you just need some rest.” Yzako suggested. “You’ve been through a lot the past few days, and--”

“No I haven’t!” he snarled. “I’ve  _ never _ had issues firebending before. Not when I was banished, not in Ba Sing Se, not when I was freezing to death at the North Pole. This is...this is  _ different. _ ”

“What does it feel like?” Aang asked. 

“Like...like  _ nothing.” _ Zuko deflated, his shoulders sagging. “I don’t know how to describe it. I’ve never had this happen before.”

Yzako frowned. She could tell that he was distraught, and she couldn’t blame him; if she suddenly lost her ability to firebend, she would be beside herself. Zuko was taking it relatively well, all things considering, with little more than a tantrum on the horizon. Yzako knew how to deal with those, and she wasn’t put off in the slightest when the prince grew more and more frustrated with himself.

“I can’t do it!” he roared, falling to his knees. 

The sun was low in the sky. Aang and Yzako had spent all day watching him try and fail, Kul napping on and off in the background. Zuko was no closer to solving his problem than he had been that morning, and while he was determined to figure it out, Yzako desperately wanted dinner, and she dragged him along with her back into the temple. 

“I don’t understand,” he grumbled, leaning in the doorway with his back towards the others as they gathered around a campfire. “I can’t firebend, and now...I can’t even teach the avatar.”

Yzako brushed up against his side. “It has to be temporary. Maybe something is just...blocking it.”

“Like  _ what?” _ he asked. He was at his wit’s end, his brain fried after such a long day. 

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never had this kind of problem before. But regarding the Aang problem…” she looked back over her shoulder to where the avatar was sitting on his bed roll and chatting with the others. “You need to tell them all.”

“What?” Zuko paled. 

“You know I’m right.”

He sighed. “You are, but…”

“But?”

“I just got here!” he groaned. “It took so much to convince them to let us stay, and now I have to tell them that I’m not even  _ useful? _ ” 

“What else are you going to do?” Yzako argued. 

“I don’t know!” he snapped. 

She sighed, taking his hand in hers. “Look at them all. They’re just...relaxing. With their friends. Even Kul and Appa are getting along. We need to start communicating with these people, or they’ll never even  _ begin _ to accept us.”

Zuko turned slightly, looking back at the group. Yzako was right; they were all sitting around the fire, laughing and talking as if they weren’t about to live through the end of the world if they didn’t manage to defeat Ozai in time. The avatar’s bison was munching on a pile of grass they had gathered for him, Kul sitting nearby with his eyes closed and a pleasant rumble vibrating through his chest. 

With a huff, Zuko straightened up, stepping away from Yzako and letting his fingers slip from hers. “I’ve got some pretty bad news.”

Everyone looked up at him in surprise.

“I’ve lost my stuff.” he sighed, closing his eyes. 

“Don’t look at me!” Toph said quickly. “I didn’t touch your stuff!”

“I’m talking about firebending,” Zuko growled, opening his eyes again. “It’s gone.”

There was a heavy moment of silence. Everyone glanced at each other, unsure of what to do, and before anyone could open their mouths, they were interrupted by a loud laugh. 

“I-I’m sorry, I’m just laughing at the  _ irony, _ ” Katara said meanly. “You know. How it would have been nice for  _ us _ if you’d lost your firebending a long time ago?”

Yzako surged forward, teeth bared in a snarl, but Zuko held his arm out just in time to catch her. “It’s not  _ lost. _ It’s just... _ weaker, _ for some reason.”

“Maybe you’re just not as good as you think you are.” Katara said, looking back at the bowl of soup in her hands. 

“Ouch,” Toph mumbled. 

“You take that back!” Yzako yelled, clawing at Zuko as she tried to get to Katara. 

“Hey, hey.” he said, trying to calm her down. “I think it’s because...I changed sides.”

“What?” Yzako paused. 

“That’s ridiculous.” Katara rolled her eyes. 

“I dunno,” Aang said. “Maybe it isn’t. Maybe your firebending comes from rage. And you just don’t have enough anger to fuel it the way you used to.”

“So, all we need to do is make Zuko angry,” Sokka deduced, climbing to his feet. He had an old Air Nomad staff in his hands, and before anyone could do anything, he was jabbing at the prince with it. “Easy enough!”

“Enough!” Zuko snarled, warding him off. “Even if you’re right, I don’t want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way.”

“You’re gonna need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source,” Toph said as Sokka sat down next to her. “I recommend the original source.”

“How’s he supposed to do that?” Sokka asked. “By jumping into a volcano?”

“No. Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is.” 

“So...is it jumping into a volcano?”

“I dunno. For earthbending, the original benders were badger moles.” she set her bowl down. “One day, when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave. That’s where I met them. They were blind, just like me, so we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending, not just as a martial art, but as an extension of my senses. For them, it wasn’t just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world.”

“That’s amazing, Toph!” Aang exclaimed. “I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison.”

“Well...the original firebenders were the dragons.” Zuko said. “And they’re extinct.”

“What do you mean?” Aang asked. “Roku had a dragon. And there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid. Sure, Kul is a spirit, but there are way more besides him, right?”

“No!” Zuko snapped. “They aren’t around anymore!”

Yzako cleared her throat. “Maybe...there’s another way.”

Their heads all shot around to look at her. 

“What are you talking about?” Zuko asked. “They’re all  _ gone. _ ”

Kul raised his head and Yzako shared a glance with him. 

“The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors.” Zuko said, stepping away from her to look out over the chasm the air temple was built in. “ _ Right, _ Kul?”

He dipped his big head in a nod. 

“Why can’t Kul help?” Toph asked. “I mean, he  _ is _ a dragon…”

When all eyes turned to the big serpent, he looked around at them. He swung his head from side to side, trying to tell them all that he couldn’t help…

But he knew someone who could. 

He looked at Aang, making a small shrieking sound and giving a nod towards Zuko.

“Sun Warriors?” Aang asked, tilting his head. When Kul nodded again, he smiled and stood, walking to join Zuko. “Well, I know  _ they _ weren’t around when I was a kid.” 

“No.” Zuko said. “They died off thousands of years ago. But...their civilization wasn’t too far away from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins.”

“It’s like the monks used to tell me.” Aang said. “Sometimes, the shadows of the past can be felt by the present.”

“So...what?” Sokka asked. “Do you think that maybe you’ll pick up some super old Sun Warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?”

“More or less.” Zuko sighed. “Either I find a new way to firebend, or the avatar has to find a new teacher.” 

“Well, maybe he  _ should,”  _ Katara sniffed, nose in the air.

“What did you say?” Yzako asked dangerously. 

The waterbender turned towards her defiantly. “You heard me.  _ Maybe,  _ if Zuko can’t  _ firebend,  _ neither of you should even  _ be here.” _

Yzako was hissing like a two headed rat viper. “You need us.”

“Oh, you think we need a couple of useless mouths to feed? You think we need two double agents hanging around, just waiting to turn us over to the Fire Nation?” Katara stood, facing her. “Don’t think so highly of yourself,  _ Golden Dragon.  _ If you two aren’t going to be useful, then I suggest you  _ leave.” _

White flames licked the edges of Yzako’s fists as they trembled at her sides. “We  _ are _ useful.”

“Right.” Katara rolled her eyes. “Zuko can’t bend anymore, and  _ you _ only know how to hurt people.”

“What? That’s not true!” Yzako argued. “I saved you from that assassin the other day. You would have been  _ toast _ without me.”

“Yeah, we all watched him burst into flames,” Katara sneered. “When have you ever used your bending for something that  _ isn’t _ destructive? We don’t need that kind of energy in our group.”

“Katara, come on,” Haru said quietly. 

“Yeah, relax,” Sokka agreed. “They might be assholes, but Yzako’s right. We need all the help we can get--”

“No!” she snapped. “Look, I know I agreed to let them stay, but it was  _ only _ so that Aang could learn firebending. If Zuko can’t teach him that, then they need to  _ leave. _ ”

Kul climbed to his feet, a loud growl rumbling in his throat as he pulled his lips back. 

“Guys, just calm down,” Aang said, holding his hands up palms out. “Tomorrow morning, Zuko and I will go find what’s left of the Sun Warriors. Nobody is  _ useless, _ and nobody has to leave.”

“You shouldn’t go  _ anywhere _ with him!” Katara yelled. “It’s not safe. He could betray you, he could  _ kill _ you--”

“He already said he wouldn’t,” Yzako stepped towards her. 

“So? His word is meaningless when he’s spent so much time trying to do exactly that!”

“Then give him a chance to prove that he’s serious!” 

“No way. It’s too risky. Aang isn’t going with Zuko, and that’s  _ final.” _

“Oh, so you’re speaking for the avatar now?” Yzako asked. 

“Aang agrees with me!” Katara looked over at the monk. “Right?”

“...Actually, Katara, I really think I should go with Zuko.” Aang said. “We  _ both _ need to learn how to firebend. It makes the most sense to go together.”

“He’s right.” Zuko gave a quick nod. “I swear, I won’t do anything to harm Aang. I know you don’t trust me, but you need to understand that I’m here to  _ help. _ ”

Katara’s eyes were narrowed into dangerous slits as she glared at him. “ _ Fine. _ But don’t forget what I said yesterday. One  _ toe _ out of line, and I’ll--”

“That’s enough!” Yzako snapped. “Stop threatening him.  _ Now.” _

“Oh yeah?” Katara asked. “What are you gonna do about it? Attack me right in front of everybody? Because as far as I remember, all  _ you _ know how to do is maim, and kill, and  _ burn. _ We all know what happened to Ba Sing Se. You’re nothing but a  _ monster, _ Yzako.”

Yzako snorted angrily, trying to cover up the fact that tears were suddenly welling in her eyes. “Take that back.”

“You know I’m right.” Katara snarled. “Everyone else might think you’re here to be all nice and helpful, but I’m not about to be fooled. You’re a firebender, through and through. I can see it in your eyes.”

With blood rushing in her ears and a mix of anger and anxiety rising in her chest, Yzako took a step back. Everyone was watching her, she realized, bracing themselves for the rage that they were all sure was going to come exploding out after Katara’s harsh words. Toph had a hand planted firmly on the ground, ready to knock Yzako out if necessary, and Sokka was scrambling back as quickly as he could. Aang and Zuko glanced at each other with panic stricken faces, and the rest of the group looked just as uneasy as they tried to decide what to do. No one had expected Katara to speak so angrily, especially not to Yzako’s face, and now, they weren’t looking forward to the repercussions.

Katara was still angry, but when she opened her mouth to taunt Yzako again, she was interrupted by a massive roar that had her stumbling back towards the campfire. In just a few large strides, Kul had come to stand between them, pulling Yzako back towards his chest with one clawed foot while his wings flared out behind him. His teeth were bared in an ugly snarl, tusks jutting out menacingly as he gave another enraged roar, snapping at Katara as she stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes. 

With an angry huff, the dragon raised his paw, and Yzako pulled herself up onto his back. She couldn’t cry, not in front of  _ them,  _ but the tears were threatening to spill over any moment. Thankfully, Kul turned away after one final roar, jumping into the chasm and taking to the air before anything else could be said. 

“Yzako!” Zuko yelled, taking a few steps before turning to glare at Katara. “Why did you have to say all that? Can’t you tell it  _ upset _ her?”

The waterbender blinked in surprise a few times before glaring right back at him. “What I said was  _ right!” _

“I dunno,” Aang said with a frown. 

“Yeah, that was pretty harsh,” Toph agreed, straightening up again. “I think that’s the meanest you’ve ever been, Katara.”

“I wasn’t being mean!” she argued. 

“It...was pretty mean,” Teo said. “Like...kind of a lot.”

“Yeah,” Haru nodded. “I know you guys said she did a lot of bad stuff, but she’s been nothing but polite to us…”

“She’s working for the Fire Lord!” Katara said. “Why can’t you guys understand that?”

“She’s not.” Zuko said firmly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t pretend that you do.” He turned on his heel, running out of the temple to look for Yzako and leaving Katara angry and dumbstruck in his wake. 

When he finally found her, she was sitting in the little clearing he had made his camp in a few nights before, hugging her knees to her chest as she picked at the grass. Kul was curled around her protectively, his long, serpentine body looped around itself tightly to form an impenetrable shield. At the sound of an intruder, his head shot up, a savage growl ripping from his throat until he saw that it was only Zuko and he quieted down again, grumbling an apology. 

“Hey,” the prince said, running his fingers over Kul’s tail. When Yzako didn’t even glance up at him, he cleared his throat. “Can I join you?”

She was quiet for a moment before her head moved in a tiny nod. 

Zuko climbed over Kul and sat in the grass, facing Yzako. “Are you okay?”

She glanced up at him with puffy eyes and he mentally kicked himself for asking. Of course she wasn’t okay. 

“I mean…” he sighed. “She shouldn’t have said all that. She was being a jerk--”

“She’s right.” Yzako’s voice was so quiet that he almost didn’t hear it. 

“I--sorry, what?”

“She was right.” she said a little louder. 

“No she wasn’t.”

“Yes.”

“Yzako…”

“I’m a monster.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.” she hugged herself tighter. “I’m nothing but destructive. Just like my fire.”

Zuko wished he knew what to say. He wished he could magically find the right words, but he had always been bad at talking, and even worse at comforting. Instead, he chose to lean towards her, tugging her into his arms and sitting with his back against Kul as she crumpled up on his chest. 

“If you’re a monster, then you’re a beautiful one.” he said, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. “My favorite monster.”

She sniffled in response.

“Aang and I are going to find the Sun Warrior ruins in the morning. Do you want to come with us?”

Yzako nodded silently.

“Good.” he hugged her tightly, resting his chin on top of her head. “Don’t think about what she said.”

“How?” she croaked out, throat sore from crying. “Everything she said was right--”

“I don’t care if you think she was right or not.”

“Just last night you told me that they were right to not trust us--”

“That doesn’t mean they can say such shitty things to you.” he growled. “She was out of line, but there’s nothing we can do about it now besides stick with our plans to go find the Sun Warriors and help Aang. Right?”

“Right…”

“I love you, Yzako.”

She sighed, breath coming out stuttery. “I love you too.”

With a low crooning sound, Kul’s head appeared, nudging them both with his nose as he blew warm air over them. 

“It’s a good thing Kul grabbed you,” Zuko chuckled, patting the dragon’s snout. “Or else I would have had to do something.”

Yzako laughed quietly, rubbing at her eyes as she looked up. “Yeah, right.”

“What? I would have!”

“Yeah? What were you gonna do? Pop tiny little flames in her direction?”

“I’m perfectly capable without my bending.” Zuko huffed. 

Yzako laughed again, settling against him. “I prefer you with it…”

“Yeah, me too.” he groaned. “I just hope we can find something in those ruins that’ll help me figure this out. Otherwise...well, I have no idea how to find Uncle…”

“Kul seems confident that the Sun Warriors will help.” Yzako said, glancing up at the dragon. He was looking down at her, blinking slowly. Did this have something to do with the surviving dragons that Iroh had spoken of all those months ago? Kul didn’t seem willing to tell the others. Maybe he wanted Aang and Zuko to find them for themselves?

“They’d better.” Zuko growled. “Wanna go back and get some sleep, or stay out here?”

“Can we stay?” she looked up at him with big eyes. “I want to see the stars…”

He smiled, shifting so that they could both see the sky comfortably. It was nearly nightfall, a few of the brightest stars already peeking out. “Of course we can, love. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No dragons yet, sorry! I wanted to drag all of this out first, so that Yzako can have more of her own reason to go discover the true meaning of fiebending and all that jazz!


	80. The Sun Warriors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, an update that didn't take me two weeks! There's probably some typos, I'm sleepy and didn't really re-read anything lol just ignore them

“We’ve been flying for hours,” Zuko grumbled, the wind whipping his loose hair around his face. He was beginning to miss the way that Fire Nation fashion kept it out of his eyes. “I don’t know why, but I thought this thing would be faster.”

The sky bison below him grumbled loudly. 

“Appa’s right, Zuko,” Aang called from his seat on the beast’s head. “In our group, typically we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude!”

“...I can’t believe this.” Zuko groaned, laying down in the massive saddle strapped to Appa’s back. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it!” Aang said cheerfully. 

“Yeah, Zuko,” Yzako laughed as Kul twisted around the bison. “You need to be more  _ upbeat.” _

The prince glared up at her. “You’re awfully peppy for someone who had to be dragged out of bed by her ankle.”

“Yeah, but that was like,  _ hours _ ago. I’m totally awake now.” she rolled her eyes. “Besidese, flying is always fun.”

Kul roared in agreement. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.”

She laughed again as her dragon dipped down below Appa, his body moving as fluidly as a ribbon in the wind. Zuko couldn’t be mad at her, not when she finally seemed to be having fun. She had spent the entire night cuddled up in his arms stargazing and trying to forget why she was upset, but it was clear that Katara’s words still rang clear in her head. No matter what he tried to do or say, he couldn’t make her believe that she was anything more than a brutal killer, and by the time she had fallen asleep, she seemed to have stubbornly accepted her fate. 

He could see the sadness and doubt and worry in her eyes, though. She was laughing and enjoying herself now, but between jokes, she kept falling silent and staring out at the horizon. Zuko knew that she was getting stuck in her own head, and he hoped that the remnants of the Sun Warriors would be able to help her find some clarity, too. 

The Sun Warriors...Zuko had learned about them in his history lessons, but most of his studies consisted of modern Fire Nation ideology. Or...propaganda, he supposed. All he had really been taught about them was that they were an ancient firebending culture, and that there were some ancient ruins still left of their once great civilization. With any luck, he and Aang would find some old texts or something that they could study...and if they weren’t lucky at all, then they would be going back home empty handed. 

He was hoping for the former. 

“What are these ruins like?” Yzako asked, leaning on Kul’s neck. 

Zuko looked over at her. “I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve ever popped in for a visit.”

“ _ Yeah,  _ but have you ever wondered about it?”

Zuko paused. “Not really. Old, probably.”

“Well, I think we’ll have an answer soon, if your directions are any good!” Aang yelled happily. “Look!”

Land was finally appearing on the horizon, and as they grew closer and closer, mountains came into view. Kul roared excitedly, tucking his wings in and diving down towards one of the rocky peaks, Appa following behind. When the dragon leveled out once more and cleared the mountain, Yzako’s eyes widened at what she saw. 

There were shining golden pyramids standing tall and proud over the ruins of a sprawling city, and even in its decay, it was glorious. Vegetation was beginning to take over, trees growing atop walls while their roots cracked the stones, but somehow, it didn’t detract from the settlement’s overall grandeur. It was obvious that the Sun Warriors, whoever they were, had been powerful, with a successful empire. Until he fell, of course, as all empires tended to do. 

Yzako wondered if the Fire Nation would go that route, too. 

“Whoa,” She heard Aang and Zuko breathe together as Kul looped around Appa once again. 

The dragon was practically humming with excitement, and it was obvious that he knew where they were. His jaws parted and he let out another roar, disrupting a flock of birds and sending them flying up from their roost down below. 

“How do you know this place?” Yzako asked him, leaning forward towards his head. 

He growled in response. 

“Fine. Don’t tell me.” She grumbled, sitting up again. She could recall Iroh once telling her that Ran and Shaw were connected to the Sun Warriors, and that he himself had come to their ruins to learn from the dragons. Even Bailong had mentioned finding the masters for more answers, when the time came, but she hadn’t expected Kul to know them. Did all dragons know each other? And why didn’t he try to tell Aang and Zuko about them when they were discussing their plans the night before? Yzako hadn’t said anything, not wanting to give away some ancient dragon secrets or something, but the closer she got to Ran and Shaw, the more questions she had.

“This place is amazing!” Aang exclaimed as Appa and Kul landed at the edge of the city. 

“Even though these buildings are ancient, there’s something eerily familiar about them,” Zuko said, jumping down from Appa’s saddle. “I can tell the Fire Sages’ temples are descended from these.”

Yzako made an angry noise and he immediately paled, turning towards her quickly. 

“I-I don’t think there are any sages here, of course,” he stammered.

Yzako slipped off of Kul, landing in the dirt. “You’re right, though.”

As her feet hit the ground, she nearly stumbled in surprise. A warmth flowed into her bare feet, and while it was only for a moment, it was enough to make her look around. There was something about this place, some kind of energy, that had her itching to see more.

“Okay, so we’ve learned something about architecture,” Aang said, beginning to walk forward while Appa wandered away to find something to eat. “Hopefully, we’ll learn something about firebending, too. The past can be a great teacher—“

He cut himself off with a squawk, yelling in surprise as he tripped himself. His foot caught on a wire, triggering the pathway directly in front of him to slide back and reveal a pit of sharp metal spikes. Aang pitched forward, exhaling a gust of air just in time to propel himself over them to the other side, where he caught his breath and looked back in a panic. 

“Great,” Yzako mumbled. “Booby traps.”

“I think the past is trying to kill me!” Aang yelled. 

“I can’t believe it,” Zuko knelt down at the edge of the pit, looking down at it. “This has to be centuries old, and it still works.”

“There’s probably a lot more,” Aang called from the other side. “Maybe this means we shouldn’t be here…”

Zuko stood again, taking a few steps back before he ran towards the wall to his right. He jumped onto it, using it to run across the length of the trap and safely landing next to Aang.

“Where’s that upbeat attitude of yours?” He asked, brushing himself off. “Besides, people don’t make traps unless they’ve got something worth protecting.”

Yzako pulled herself back up onto Kul, and the dragon stepped over the pit easily. “Are you guys really going to explore this place on foot?”

“Why not?” Aang asked. 

She looked around. “I don’t know...just seems like there’s more to see from the air.” 

Plus, she was itching to explore this place without them around. If there really were living dragons here, then she wanted to find them as quickly as possible while the boys played around with booby traps. 

“We have no idea what we’re looking for,” Zuko said. “It’s best if we stay on the ground so that we have a better chance of finding what we need.”

“Suit yourself.” She shrugged. 

“Why don’t you take a look around from the air, Yzako?” Aang suggested. “You might be able to spot something we won’t.”

She didn’t entirely love the idea of leaving them down there to fend for themselves, but as Kul shifted his weight anxiously, she nodded. 

“Yeah, alright.” She said. “Scream if you fall into a spike pit.”

“Will do!” Aang shouted as Kul took off into the sky. 

As the dragon disappeared from view, the avatar sighed and turned to Zuko. “I didn’t really get a chance to say this earlier, and I didn’t want to upset Yzako, but...I’m sorry for what Katara said last night.”

Zuko stared at him for a moment before he began walking. “Why are you apologizing? You're not the one who said it.”

“Because I feel responsible, I guess.” Aang followed, gripping his staff tightly. 

“We know that Katara hates us.” Zuko said. “The only way to change that is by proving that we’re here to help.”

“Still...she was letting her anger speak for her. She wasn’t thinking clearly. If it wasn’t for Kul, we could have had a real fight on our hands, and that’s not the sort of thing we should be worrying about right now.”

Zuko gave him a sideways glance. “Yzako already thinks she’s a monster. She doesn’t need anyone else reinforcing that.”

“Why would she think that?” Aang asked, carefully stepping over another wire strung across the path. 

Zuko looked up at the large pyramid before them. “Because my father told her that she was.”

Aang frowned. “I thought Ozai liked her.”

“I don’t think he  _ likes  _ anyone.” Zuko said. “He can  _ like  _ that a person can be useful to him. He can  _ like  _ that they’ll give him something. But he can never actually like  _ them.”  _ He sighed. “He uses Yzako to intimidate not only his enemies, but the members of his own cabinet. To him, she’s a pet, something that he’s proud to own. He’d be happy to reduce her to nothing more than a mindless killing machine if he could.”

Aang wasn’t sure what to say, so as they continued walking, he chose not to say anything at all. 

Kul, meanwhile, had  _ plenty _ to say. As he twisted around the top of the big pyramid, he let out another loud call, then paused as if waiting for a response. When none came, he repeated himself, dipping down towards the city and coasting over it. He was acting like he was searching for something, or  _ someone, _ and as Yzako craned her neck to peer at the ground, she felt a familiar feeling creeping up her back. 

“Why do I feel like we’re being watched?” she asked, yelling over the rush of the wind. “We haven’t seen any sign of life since we got here. If there really  _ are _ dragons and ancient warriors protecting them, why don’t they come out and say hello?”

He roared again, turning back towards the big pyramid. As he circled it, Yzako caught a glimpse at the structure sitting at the very top of it, and her brows furrowed. Was that...fire? A controlled flame, burning all the way on the top of a building in a supposedly abandoned city? When Kul slowed himself, his wings flaring out to create drag so that he could land, Yzako almost couldn’t believe her eyes. It was definitely a fire, big and healthy, orange and yellow flames leaping upwards. 

“What is this?” she asked, jumping down from Kul’s neck. 

Without answering, he lumbered forward, determined to do what he did best: take a nap. 

“Kul, wait!” Yzako hissed, running after him. “Don’t touch it!”

The dragon shrugged her off, and before she could do anything about it, he was curling up in the fire, laying his body in tight coils like a snake would. He settled himself happily, a content look on his face as he closed his eyes and cozied up, prepared to ignore Yzako’s insistence that he get up and stop taking naps in other people’s flames. 

“Come on, get up!” she said. “You saw that trap Aang nearly fell into, and you think the best course of action is to just go around touching random fire?”

He cracked an eye open and gave her an unimpressed look. 

“Just because you’re a dragon doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want!” Yzako snapped, glancing around. “There’s no way this fire has just been burning on its own. There’s someone taking care of it, isn’t there?”

“Indeed, there is.” a masculine voice said.

Yzako nearly jumped out of her skin, turning quickly with her hands raised and ready to attack. A large man was standing at the top of the steps that led to the fire, a few others appearing behind him. The upper half of his face was painted red, a white line bordering it beneath his eyes. On his head, he wore a feathered hood, a large gold jewel fastened just above his forehead, a thick golden collar covering his neck. There were similar bands and bracers on his arms and wrists, and the rest of his clothing consisted of red and yellow cloth. 

“Who are you that you have intruded here?” the man asked. 

“A trespasser,” a smaller man said, stepping up next to him. 

“Who are  _ you?” _ Yzako asked indignantly. “I thought the Sun Warriors were all dead.”

“Clearly  _ not, _ foolish  _ girl,” _ the smaller man spat. 

“Answer my question, and I shall answer yours,” the first one said, ignoring his companion. 

He seemed much more reasonable, so Yzako focused her attention on him. His voice, while stern, was almost friendly...though she wasn’t about to trust these people further than she could throw them. “My name is Yzako.”

“And I am Chief Utu.” he bowed his head slightly. 

From inside the fire, Kul looked up, roaring as if introducing himself. Yzako glanced back at him, but at the sound of gasps, she looked at the Sun Warriors and saw them staring past her with wide eyes. 

“D-don’t mind him, he’s just kind of a big lizard--”

“A gold dragon,” Utu breathed, immediately dropping to his knees in a low bow. 

The others followed, kneeling with their arms stretched out in front of them, and Yzako wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do about it. Thankfully, Kul seemed perfectly comfortable with things, and was more than happy to break the silence with a low croon.

Chief Utu looked up. “Who are you, Yzako, that you travel with a dragon?”

She swallowed hard, trying to find the sassy, important attitude she always had when addressing people at the palace. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she raised her chin, looking down at the Sun Warriors. “I am the Golden Dragon.”

Utu raised an eyebrow. 

“Impossible!” The thin man hissed. “There has not been a Golden Dragon in centuries—“

“Ham Gao,” the chief warned, glaring at him. Turning back to Yzako, he fixed her with a serious gaze, his brow furrowed. “He is right, however...there have been no Golden Dragons since the last fell generations ago.”

“So you know about it?” Yzako asked. “About...us, I guess?”

“Yes, of course.” Utu finally rose, climbing to his feet once more. “The first Golden Dragon was a Sun Warrior.”

“And if the dragons were going to choose another, they would have picked one of  _ us _ to be their emissary!” Ham Gao snapped.

“Please, tell us your story,” Utu said, ignoring him. “I am sure it is an interesting one, to say the least.”

And that’s how, several minutes later, Yzako found herself sitting with her back to the Eternal Flame, Kul watching from the fire as the Sun Warriors sat before them. She swallowed hard, trying not to waver under their gazes as they looked at her expectantly, 

“When I was born, I didn’t cry. The dragon who lived on my island was losing a battle with Fire Lord Azulon, and as he died, he gave me his life.” She looked down at her lap, gripping the fabric of her pants. “Kul’s spirit stayed with mine, teaching me to firebend. When I was a child, the Fire Sages came to take me away, and I finished growing up within their temple. Last year, I was presented to Fire Lord Ozai, and given the task of hunting down and assassinating the crown prince.”

“What does this have to do with  _ us?”  _ Ham Gao asked impatiently. “Fire Nation politics do not—“

“Ham Gao, please.” Utu sighed, too exasperated to glare anymore. “Golden Dragon, please, continue.”

“I found the prince. I also found his uncle, Iroh.” She looked up at the chief to see surprise flashing in his eyes momentarily. “A lot happened. We sailed the world. Kul started to walk around more and more. It wasn’t until I traveled to the spirit world and spoke to Bailong that I learned what the Golden Dragon actually was, though, and he’s the one who told me to seek you out.”

“Bailong the white dragon?” Chief Utu asked as the Sun Warriors murmured to each other. 

“Yes.” Yzako bowed her head. “He told me to find the Sun Warriors when the time came.” She looked up at Utu again. “I’m here with the avatar Prince Zuko. They’re down in the city somewhere. They need to speak with the masters—“

“If they are worthy of learning from the masters, they will survive the traps and learn The Dancing Dragon.” Utu interrupted. “If not, they will perish.”

“They can’t perish!” Yzako said. “They need help from—“

“What is  _ your  _ reason for coming here?” He asked, cutting her off.

She paused, staring at him. “My...my reason?”

“Yes. Why do you seek our civilization, and the masters we protect?”

“I…” she trailed off, looking away towards the sun. “I want...I  _ need _ to know if…”

“If?” Utu echoed.

She looked back at him, then sighed and hung her head. “I need to know if I’m a monster.”

For a long moment, there was nothing but silence. 

“Come with us.” The chief finally said, slowly climbing to his feet.

Yzako’s head snapped up. “What?”

He was already turning towards the steps. “This way.”

She jumped up, running to catch up with him. The Sun Warriors followed behind, Ham Gao’s eyes burning holes into the back of her head as they began the long journey down the pyramid. She didn’t know what his problem with her was, but his hostility was getting on her nerves, and she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to put up with it before she showed them all exactly  _ why  _ she was so afraid of being a monster.

Kul slithered out of the fire he had been so comfortable in, taking to the sky and circling leisurely overhead while the humans walked. As he flew, he cast a large shadow on the ground, and when the sky suddenly went dark, Aang and Zuko both looked up.

“Wonder if they’ve found anything useful,” Zuko mumbled, watching the dragon wheel back around towards the big pyramid. 

They had already been walking for what felt like forever, jumping over trip wires and tip toeing around suspiciously clean looking bricks. So far, they hadn’t spotted anything helpful, only an endless collection of crumbling walls and broken artifacts.

“Hey, look!” Aang said, pointing ahead as they came to a set of stairs. 

They led to a massive stone carving, and as Zuko followed the avatar to stand before it, his eyes widened slightly. There was a figure in the center, surrounded by flames, two huge dragons attacking from either side.

“This looks promising,” Aang commented. “Though...I’m not sure what this tells us about the original source of firebending…”

“They look pretty angry to me,” Zuko said.

“I thought the dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors.”

“Well, they had a funny way of showing it.” Zuko looked at the carving for a moment more and then turned. He didn’t want to stand there and think about dragons any longer, or the fact that, aside from Kul, they were all gone.

“Zuko, something happened to the dragons in the last hundred years.” Aang said. “Something you’re not telling me.”

He paused. “My great-grandfather Sozin happened.” 

Zuko began walking, heading towards a narrow bridge. It led to more steps, and beyond those, sets of walls. The big pyramid was looming in the distance, but Kul was no longer circling it, already having disappeared. Aang followed at the prince’s heels, staring after him curiously.

“He started the tradition of hunting dragons for glory.” Zuko said. “They were the ultimate firebenders. If you could conquer one, your firebending talents would become legendary, and you would earn the honorary title of  _ dragon.” _

He stopped at the foot of the steps, looking up at the two huge dragon statues on either side of them. One had been broken, its stone head sitting unceremoniously on the ground at Zuko’s feet. 

“My grandfather killed Kul when I was very young. Before that, the last great dragon was conquered years earlier, long before I was born. By my uncle.” Zuko reached for the statue’s head, placing his palm on its eye. 

“But...I thought your uncle was...I don’t know, good?” Aang asked.

“He had a complicated past.” Zuko sighed. “Family tradition, I guess. Let’s just...move on.”

Aang frowned, but as he followed, he found that he didn’t have anything to say. 

They walked in silence, up another set of steps, passing crumbling statue after crumbling statue. Zuko had no idea how long ago this place had fallen into disarray, but by the looks of things, it had been at least several centuries since the height of the once great Sun Warrior civilization. How had it fallen? He wasn’t even sure, honestly; all he knew was what he had been taught in his history lessons as a child, which was only that the Sun Warriors were the first tribe to learn firebending from the dragons, and at some point, they all died off. 

Pretty cut and dry, as far as he was concerned, but still, he couldn’t help wondering about the details. 

As they came to the top of a set of stairs, Zuko saw that they had reached a large building. The entire city was complex and tiered, built up on itself in a way he had never seen before. The big pyramid was shining in the distance, and though it was still far away, it was significantly closer now, so tall that it seemed like its top could brush the clouds. Zuko didn’t know who exactly these Sun Warriors were, but their architecture was putting even Ba Sing Se to shame.

Aang ran ahead towards a large, circular, golden door. He stuck his hands into it, dropping his staff as he tried to pull it open, to no avail. 

“It’s locked up!” he said, grunting with effort. 

Zuko narrowed his eyes as he followed, stepping past a tall stone obelisk. The doors were too ornate to lead to anything boring, no doubt hiding something that they would find useful, or at the very least, interesting. They didn’t have any visible handles on the outside, and as he looked around, he couldn’t spot any mechanisms to open them. There was nothing but a series of ornate carvings and a large crimson sunstone sitting in the stones above them.

When a flash of light caught in the corner of his eye, he turned, looking at the obelisk behind him. A large jewel was set near the top of it, reflecting the sunlight and redirecting it to the bricks at his feet. Stepping back, he saw that the red beam was hitting a round symbol carved into them.

“It’s a celestial calendar.” he said. “Just like the Fire Sages have in their temples. That sunstone probably opens the door when the light hits it at the right angle. If this calendar is right, that’s the solstice.”

“Monkey feathers!” Aang swore. 

Zuko raised an eyebrow. The monks evidently never taught him how to cuss.

“The solstice again? We can’t wait here that long!”

“No, we can’t.” Zuko reached for one of the swords on his back, pulling it from its sheath and kneeling down. “But maybe we can speed up time.”

The sunlight reflecting off the stone in the obelisk hit his blade, and as he angled it, he was able to send it shining in the direction of the sunstone above the door. It immediately began glowing, as if it had to warm up, and after a few tense seconds, Zuko felt a rumbling as the doors slowly began to slide open, revealing a room. 

“You know, Zuko, I don’t care what everyone says about you.” Aang said, elbowing the prince when he put his sword away and came to stand next to him. “You’re pretty smart!”

Part of Zuko was offended by the statement, but the rest was pleased, and he entered the chamber with a small smile on his face. 

Aang suddenly jumped back, yelling in fear. 

“Relax,” Zuko rolled his eyes, walking past him and looking up. “They’re just statues.”

The room was decorated simply, a circle of huge stone warriors in varying poses standing around a design on the floor. The walls were covered in mosaics depicting the sun, and the ceiling was high, some kind of skylight letting the sun in.

They walked in, passing between two of the statues. They stood in mirrored poses, and as he looked around the circle, Zuko realized that they each had a twin.

“It says this is something called The Dancing Dragon,” Aang said, reading a carving on the floor. 

He set his staff down and looked up, taking a step back before shifting his weight onto his left foot and mimicking the statue’s pose, his arms raised with his palms facing upwards. As he did so, he felt a tile under him sink down, and when he crouched to get a closer look, he saw that it was some sort of button. 

“Zuko, get over here!” he rushed to grab the firebender’s arm. “I want you to dance with me!”

“What?” Zuko wrenched himself free. 

“Just do it!” Aang grabbed him again, pulling him to stand before one of the statues. 

“Ugh.” the prince said, shoulders hunched . This was stupid. They needed to be finding...well,  _ something, _ not doing something as dumb as  _ dancing. _

“Just follow the steps of the statues!” Aang said, resuming the pose he had struck.

“Fine,” Zuko grumbled, standing on his right foot and raising his arms. 

As he stepped into a lunge, mimicking the next statue, he felt his foot press down on something. He looked down in surprise only to see that it was one of the floor tiles.

“See?” Aang asked. “These aren’t dance moves. These statues are giving us a lesson.”

They both continued, and as Zuko followed the poses, his movements felt...familiar, somehow. 

“I think this is some kind of Sun Warrior firebending form,” Aang called from the other side of the circle. 

“Well this better teach us something good,” Zuko growled, pivoting on his heel and thrusting his hand out in front of him.

He knew that Aang was right, though; the more he moved, the more he realized where he recognized this from. It almost  _ was _ a dance, graceful and coordinated, designed to open up channels and allow energy to flow. He had observed it dozens, if not hundreds of times at this point, but he had never done anything like it himself. His feet felt light, his muscles moving easily as he followed the statues around him. It felt the way that Yzako’s firebending looked, far different from his own bending. 

When he and Aang reached the final step, they both bent to the side, fists reaching towards each other. A loud sound behind them had both boys turning to look as a small pillar rose from the center of the floor, a golden egg-shaped object sitting on top of it. 

“Hooray!” Aang yelled, jumping triumphantly. “...Wait, what is that?”

“...Some kind of...mystical gemstone?” Zuko wondered out loud, running towards it. 

“Well, don’t touch it!” Aang called after him. 

“Why not?” Zuko paused as he reached for it. 

“Remember what happened out there with all the spikes?” Aang rushed to his side, looking around warily. “I’m just suspicious of giant, glowing gems sitting on pedestals.”

Zuko ignored him, picking it up with both hands. It was warm, and while hefty, it was lighter than expected, as if it were hollow. 

“It feels...almost alive,” he said, staring at it as he held it up. Like the dance, it had a familiar feeling, though this time, he was beginning to suspect that he shouldn’t be holding it. 

When he tried to put it back, the wind was suddenly knocked out of his chest as a gush of liquid roared upwards from the now-empty pedestal, sending him up into the grate that covered the skylight in the ceiling. He let out a yell, his back hitting the bars. He expected to fall back down, but instead, he found that he was incredibly  _ stuck, _ the dark green goo quickly growing tacky. The egg was hanging from a string of the gross substance, swinging in the air near his hand as he looked down at the room below him.

“It’s another trap!” Aang shouted as the doors closed. 

“I can’t pull free!” Zuko yelled, trying to yank his arms away from the grate. “It’s like some kind of glue!” 

The liquid continued to gush, flooding the room. Aang grabbed his staff and leapt onto the head of a statue, sending a blast of air up towards Zuko. It only served to knock the egg down and turn him so that his chest was pressed against the bars, and only a moment later, Aang had been pushed up next to him. 

“I can’t move!” he said in a panic. “Zuko, do something!”

“Me?” he asked. “I can’t move either!”

The goo pushed at their backs, keeping them firmly in place as it finally stopped rising. Their faces were both resting in the empty space between the bars, and if nothing else, they still had the ability to breathe.

“It...stopped,” Aang breathed a sigh of relief. 

“At least we have air.” Zuko said. “If we stay calm, we can find a way out of this. Yzako is still flying around out there somewhere. There’s no way she didn’t hear any of this.”

“Right,” Aang agreed. “We’ll just...wait until she finds us.”

“Right.” Zuko said, trying to reassure himself. “Any second now, we’ll hear Kul. He’ll probably have some weird ancient secret to get us out.”

As the minutes stretched into hours, they both finally began to really,  _ really _ worry.

“Are you sure she’s okay?” Aang finally asked.

“Yzako? She’s always okay.” Zuko said, trying not to let his worry show. It had been way too long, and there hadn’t been  _ any _ sign of the terrifying fire breathing monster he had come to know and love...or the dragon, for that matter. 

“I dunno…” Aang said. “This place is full of traps. Do you think she--”

“No way.” Zuko cut him off. “I’ve seen her get herself out of way worse than anything these  _ Sun Warriors _ left behind. Besides, she’s got Kul, and he’s a giant baby. If anything happened to her, we would have heard him screeching about it by now.”

“Good point,” Aang sighed. 

“We just...have to wait.” Zuko said. He tried to give a reassuring nod, but when he couldn’t move his head forward, he was reminded exactly how  _ sticky _ their situation was and he groaned. 

As the sky shifted from blue to the burning orange of sunset, help still hadn’t arrived. He was determined not to worry, and in lieu of panic, he was beginning to grow angry. How could she just leave him there? Yeah, if she had asked if he needed her to keep such a close eye on him, he would have stubbornly said  _ no, _ because he was perfectly capable of handling  _ himself, _ but still...this was just plain ridiculous. What was she even doing that was so important? Did she even notice that she couldn’t find him anywhere in this stupid, crumbling city?

Unbeknownst to him, Yzako was going through her own trial, and hers was much,  _ much _ more terrifying than some globs of goo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DRAGONS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER I PROMISE I was gonna do this all in one go, but then I realized it would be an absolutely MASSIVE chapter, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it would be super disproportionate to like all the others in this fic, and it just felt better to split up lol. Plus, I wanna try to get this fic to a nice even 100 chapters, so I gotta squeeze what I can out of everything!


	81. The Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and forth on how to write so many parts of this, but I think I'm finally happy with it! 
> 
> Ran and Shaw are BIG in this. Like, bigger than in the show. Big ol noodles. I've been imagining Kul as pretty massive, maybe like, 3/4 the size of how we see them in The Firebending Masters episode. Bigger than Roku and Sozin's dragons, but not QUITE as huge as the masters. He can still fit inside the Fire Nation and Earth King's palaces, but to be fair, they're both very grand, and he has to squeeze his way through doors and halls. I like to imagine that dragons are like sharks, lobsters, and possums, and they just keep growing bigger and bigger until they die. Since dragons wouldn't have the same constraints as real world animals, I think they could get BIG. Plus, Ran and Shaw are ancient firebending masters, so it makes sense to me that they would be big hulking beasts lol. (What do they eat, though??)
> 
> I also think that the blue dragon is male, and the red is female, since it's assumed that they laid the egg kept in the Sun Warrior city. As far as I know, they never told us which is which, and they also never stated which is Ran and which is Shaw, so WHO IS TO SAY REALLY
> 
> I'm also obsessed with the idea that dragons have similar lip muscles to horses, for some reason, and that's why I always write them as swishing their upper lip over things. It cute.

“We watch over the masters. Their safety is our top priority.” Chief Utu said. “It is thanks to our remote location, the widespread belief that we have gone extinct, and our own defenses that they are still alive. We receive very few visitors, and even fewer are deemed worthy by the masters.”

“But Iroh was?” Yzako asked as she walked a few steps behind. 

“Correct. Iroh was the last outsider to learn from them.”

“So...what do I have to do for them to deem me worthy?” 

“Well, having your own dragon around certainly helps,” the chief laughed loudly. He cleared his throat again, pointing towards two sharp mountain peaks in the distance. “That is our destination.”

Yzako sighed loudly. They had been walking all afternoon, trudging through streets and past buildings that were beginning to look more and more lived in and less and less abandoned. It seemed like the Sun Warriors, though not a particularly large civilization anymore, were thriving here in isolation. Their city wasn’t quite as vibrant as she was positive it had once been, but none of them appeared bothered or angry about it, waving to the chief as their party passed by and continuing on with their days. 

She could see trees at the edge of the city, and past them, a jagged mountain range that curved around the entire settlement, no doubt part of the reason it stayed so well hidden. This place would be nearly impossible to reach on foot, and the only reason she and the boys had gotten there so easily was thanks to Appa and Kul. 

Utu chuckled. “The masters prefer their peace and quiet. They keep their distance.”

“I can tell.” Yzako grumbled. 

Kul growled in agreement. He was walking on foot, meandering alongside the group of Sun Warriors that continued to accompany Yzako and the chief while the others lingered closer to the big pyramid they had met them at. While nothing was said, Yzako could tell that they were sticking around to keep an eye on Zuko and Aang, no doubt displeased with the amount of strangers they suddenly had to deal with. 

It made her feel slightly better about wandering around so far away from them. At least  _ somebody _ was making sure they didn’t get themselves killed. Although...they all seemed to be completely fine with the concept of outsiders falling prey to their traps. She had the impression that these people were fair and wouldn’t outright attack her companions, but she also had the feeling that they might be a little  _ too _ fair, and refuse to intervene if something bad happened to them. 

Utu seemed perfectly content to chat with her, though. He was friendly, and the longer they walked, the more he wanted to talk. 

“Normally, it is customary for anyone who wishes to speak to the masters to carry a piece of the Eternal Flame.” He said. 

“Is that the fire Kul decided to take a nap in?” Yzako asked. 

“Yes, it is,” he chuckled. 

“What’s so eternal about it?”

“It was the first fire given to humans by the dragons. We have tended it all these years, ensuring that it always burns.” Utu explained. “It is the very flame which gave us life.”

“How do you figure that?” She asked.

“The dragons taught us firebending and shared with us the ability to defend ourselves, to stay warm even on the coldest nights, to cook our food and forge weapons...fire is the beginning and the end of all things.”

“Seems to me that it’s mostly the end.” Yzako said bitterly. 

“I sense that you have witnessed much destruction.”

“I’ve  _ caused  _ much destruction.” She sighed. “I’ve done so many bad things, and people hate me for it. They  _ rightfully  _ hate me. I want to be different, I want to  _ help  _ and do good things, but I feel like I don’t know  _ how.” _

Utu nodded as if he understood. She doubted that he did. Nobody really did, nobody else could possibly know what it felt like to be the source of so much grief. Not him, not Zuko,  _ maybe _ Ozai, but she hated the concept of being so similar to him. She hated how much it had made sense, on that day when he walked with her in the garden and told her that they were both the same breed of monster.

She didn’t want to be like him.

“It can be easy, letting your fire burn everything it touches. I do not have all the answers that you seek, but, perhaps, I will be able to clarify after you see the masters.” the chief said.

Yzako nodded hesitantly. If anyone could help her make sense of everything, it would be the masters. If Bailong said she needed to go to them, then that’s what she needed to do...although she wasn’t so sure what they could even tell her. They were ancient, and probably wise as a result, but how could they possibly alleviate her worries? And how could she know that they would even  _ want _ to? She was just some human, just a  _ girl. _ They weren’t under any obligation to help.

As they neared the base of the mountains, she was beginning to have doubts, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. What if Ran and Shaw didn’t deem her worthy of her title? What if they didn’t even want to see her? There was a good chance they would take one look at her and then turn away. They didn’t have to do anything they didn’t want to, and she had no idea if they would have any interest in her. What was she going to do, walk up, tell them that she was The Golden Dragon, and then sit down for a lesson? It seemed stupid and unlikely, and the longer she walked, the more Yzako wanted to turn and run.

By the time their party reached the top of the mountain, the sun was beginning to set. She was starting to worry about Zuko and Aang, anxiously wishing that she could simply climb onto Kul’s back and go find them, but none of the Sun Warriors had brought them up yet. Were they still wandering around the temple ruins, searching for answers to their own questions? If they had already met with terrible fates, Yzako liked to think that word would have been sent to the chief, but she had no way of knowing that anyone would come running to deliver the news. They were keeping her totally in the dark about the state of her friend and boyfriend, but as much as she hated it, there wasn’t much she could do about it at the moment. If she was there, with them, like she should be, then she would be able to keep an eye on them and help. 

But she couldn’t. This was just as important as their journey, and she had to see it through before her own doubts and insecurities ate her alive. 

“You see before you a set of steps, between two rocks,” Utu said, coming to a halt. 

Yzako nearly ran into him as she was snapped back to reality. Peering around him, she saw that he was right; two pointy rocks jutted upwards, connected by a narrow stone walkway. Tall, nearly completely vertical steps stretched up to the center, and Yzako stifled a sigh as she realized she was probably expected to climb all the way to the top. 

She was getting sick of so much walking.

The Sun Warriors fanned out into a wide circle, sitting and standing next to large drums. While some lit fires in their hands, others began pounding out a slow, yet determined rhythm, the sound echoing around Yzako as she faced Utu.

“Climb to the top, Golden Dragon, and present yourself to the masters.” he said.

“And do what, exactly?”

“You will know.”

Yeah, sure. That wasn’t ominous at all.

She bowed her head, then stepped past him. When she realized that Kul was standing still instead of following her, she turned, giving him a bewildered look.

“You must face the masters alone.” Utu said.

Yzako swallowed hard before turning back towards the steps. This was just getting better and better, wasn’t it? 

As she climbed the steps, her thoughts began rushing. She had never met any dragons that weren’t Kul. What if they weren’t as friendly as he was? What if they didn’t accept her? She was so doubtful, so insecure with herself, that she was beginning to panic. Would it really be that bad an idea to turn around, grab Kul, and run? She could definitely make it out of there in one piece if she hurried. 

Yzako paused. Yes, she could turn tail and run. She could run from everything, if she really wanted to. She could jump onto Kul’s back and fly away, find some impossible-to-reach mountain to live on for the rest of her life, and be  _ free,  _ just like she always wanted. There would be no one to answer to, no one to put pressure on her. She could leave everything behind and forget about this entire war.

She looked down at her feet. The stone steps were worn, smoothed by the years. How many people had been in her exact situation before, climbing up them while their legs burned with the effort, scared shitless and wondering if they were about to die? How many of them actually  _ had _ met their fate at the top? Was it even possible to survive and get to walk back down them again?

Of course it was. Yzako knew that at least  _ one _ person had met the masters and lived to take their teachings to heart. 

She wished Iroh were there to help her. She wished he was standing next to Kul and the chief, watching her with a proud look in his eyes as she climbed higher and higher. She wished he would be waiting for her to come back down, his arms open and ready to pull her into his embrace. 

But he wasn’t there. It was up to her to push on, to do this  _ herself, _ on her own, without any help. Raising her head once more, she squared her jaw, filled with a fresh determination to see this through to the end. She couldn’t just run away. She couldn’t just abandon everyone. She had to face Ran and Shaw, and this could be her only chance to see the masters. 

Lifting one foot, then the other, she climbed the steps, higher and higher. By the time she reached the top, she was exhausted, but she hardly noticed the ache in her legs as she stood in the center of the narrow walkway connecting the two peaks. When she glanced behind her, she could see the Sun Warriors still gathered down below, so far away that they looked like tiny dots on the ground. Even Kul seemed tiny from so high up, though he dwarfed the humans around him. 

She turned to her right, seeing that the stone walkway led to a cave. When she looked the other way she found an identical opening in the rocky peak. Was this where the masters lived? Were they seriously in their little dens, napping all the time, while this entire civilization worshipped and protected them? Well, knowing the way Kul liked to curl up and sleep all day like a lazy cat, it made sense. 

“The Golden Dragon will now present her power!” 

Wait.

What?

Her power? What did that mean? Nobody had told her anything. The chief never even said what she actually had to do in order to be granted an audience with the masters, only that she would  _ know. _ But no, she  _ didn’t _ know. She had no idea what was expected of her now, and as she turned from side to side, glaring into the caves, she felt her fists heating up at her sides. 

This was getting to be ridiculous. Why couldn’t anything be straightforward? She should be able to walk in, ask to chat with the dragons, and then have them show up. There was no need for all this...all this  _ pomp,  _ especially not for  _ her, _ not for the Golden Dragon. It was making her angry, fire swelling up from her belly. They wanted to see her power, did they? Well, she was going to show them  _ power. _

The fire rose into her throat, growing hotter and hotter as she tilted her head towards the sky and flames came pouring out. She was barely aware of the Sun Warriors blowing horns down below, but the sound was deafening to Chief Utu as he looked up at this girl who seemed more dragon than human, a great plume of fire roaring forth from her jaws. It blazed brightly against the burnt sky, and he couldn’t help but smile at the sight. There was no doubt in his mind that the masters would aid her now.

Sure enough, as soon as she stopped to catch her breath, Yzako felt the stone beneath her feet beginning to rumble. Something big was coming, and as she glanced behind her, she saw a blue snout appearing from the cave, the largest dragon she had ever seen emerging from its den. It was huge, far bigger than Kul, giant tusks jutting out of its mouth as it made straight for her.

Her eyes widened and her head snapped around to face the other mountain. A red dragon, identical in size to the other, was rushing out towards her, teeth bared as it flew out of its cave. She was frozen in place, trapped between them as they veered to the sides and twisted their long bodies through the air, flying in a serpentine pattern around her. She could feel heat radiating off of them, but rather than uncomfortable, it was inviting, like the soothing warmth of a fireplace, or the relaxing steam rising off of a hot bath. 

Yzako wasn’t scared. She couldn’t be. She wouldn’t  _ allow _ herself to be.

As she looked up, she marveled at the way their bodies were so effortlessly flying past each other in the same pattern over and over, their energy pushing and pulling. It reminded her of Tui and La at the North Pole, always moving, never stopping. The wind was rushing around her, pulling her hair loose from its topknot, and as it whipped in the air, Yzako felt a lightness in her chest. The knots in her stomach were untangling as her eyes followed Ran and Shaw, the dragons somehow clearing the energy pathways inside of her until they could flow freely, like they were always supposed to. 

Then, the dragons slowed, coming to stop on either side of her. Their mouths opened, and Yzako braced herself to feel the heat of their fire biting at her, but as she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation, it didn’t come. Instead, her skin felt pleasantly warm, and when she opened her eyes again, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The flames weren’t red, or orange, or white, or even blue; instead, Yzako saw a little bit of  _ everything _ in them, a rainbow of ever-shifting colors that surrounded her.

The longer she looked, the more she felt like she understood. 

Ran and Shaw didn’t say a word. They didn’t speak to her the way that Bailong did in the spirit world. They didn’t even try to convey their thoughts and feelings to her the way that Kul did. But as the dragons bathed Yzako in their fire, it was as if she was seeing everything they wanted her to. As powerful as the blaze was, it was still gentle. While destructive, it was also life-giving. 

It was terrible and it was beautiful, all at the same time. 

The greens and blues and pinks and reds all flashed before Yzako’s eyes, and as the dragons closed their jaws once more, the fire eventually disappeared into the air. As she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, the Golden Dragon looked back and forth between Ran and Shaw, marveling at how huge they were and the wisdom she saw in their fierce gazes. She wanted to stay there forever, standing between these two massive beasts. She wanted to feel their mystical fire again, she  _ yearned _ for its warmth, the air suddenly feeling cold now that it was gone. 

Yzako was pulled away from her thoughts by a shrieking roar from down below, and just as she turned to see what it was, her field of vision was entirely taken up by the golden scales of her favorite dragon. Kul landed on the stone steps, claws digging into the sides as he stood over Yzako and looked up at Ran and Shaw with her. 

She never thought there would come a time when he looked small, and yet the two older dragons  _ dwarfed _ him. They had to be twice his size, at  _ least _ , but even though they were far bigger than he was, Kul didn’t seem worried. He was making his strange warbling noises, and now that Ran and Shaw were finished with Yzako, it seemed like he wanted their attention all on him. 

The red dragon made a low crooning sound, lowering its head to sniff Kul. He nuzzled against its chin, and as Yzako watched, she couldn’t help but laugh. He was like a child, excited for the chance to play with others of his own kind again. She was used to seeing him as an all-knowing, old firebending master, but compared to these two, he was practically a kid. 

A kid...but  _ whose _ kid, exactly? Yzako looked between the dragons above her, the blue one now joining in as it swished its lip over Kul’s mane. Ran and Shaw were nearly identical to each other, save for their coloring, and while all three were similar, there were some stark differences between them and Kul. The masters had a fair amount of fur around their heads, but unlike Kul, whose soft mane continued on down the length of his spine, their backs were lined with sharp, wave-shaped spikes. Ran and Shaw had shorter, thinner whiskers, and their horns were nearly straight, whereas Kul’s had two smaller points jutting off of them, similar to young deerdogs. 

It seemed unlikely that the three were related, Yzako decided, but her musings were only raising more questions that she doubted she would ever get answers to. Humans didn’t know much about the dragons they hunted to near-extinction, and despite having Kul around, she had never gotten the chance to learn anything about where he came from or what had happened to his family. Shit, she didn’t even know how old he was, only that he had been on his island before the humans came, however long ago that was. 

Still, even if they weren’t blood, Kul definitely seemed familiar with Ran and Shaw. As they stood on the long stone walkways between their caves, Kul sat down on the steps, and just as she thought she was no longer important in their little meeting, Yzako was suddenly shoved forward into the center of their circle by one of his big paws. 

Now, as Ran and Shaw looked down at her, it felt far less official. This was a real introduction, more relaxed than when they had deemed her worthy to receive their fire just a few minutes earlier. She didn’t know what Kul was saying as he grumbled and growled, but she had a feeling that it was about her, because as the blue dragon listened, its gaze was boring into hers. It lowered its head ever so slowly, holding eye contact the entire time, and when it had finally reached her level and practically laid its chin on the stone she stood on, Yzako felt a rush of warm air. It was breathing on her, huge nostrils flared as it took in her scent. 

Perhaps against her better judgment, she reached out, placing her palm on the dragon’s snout. It closed its eyes, a deep hum reverberating through the stone it laid on, and soon the red dragon behind Yzako was echoing it. She turned, letting her fingers slip from the azure scales, and repeated the action with the other master, finding it just as warm under her touch as Kul. 

Chief Utu and the rest of the Sun Warriors watched from the ground, squinting up at the sight of all three dragons gathered together. The sun was setting behind them, night quickly approaching, but no one made any moves to interrupt the masters as they met with Yzako. Instead, they waited patiently, the drums still pounding. No one could believe what they were seeing--they spent their entire lives protecting Ran and Shaw, but no one had ever thought that they would one day get to watch the Golden Dragon return and meet with them. 

As the sky darkened and the stars came out, Ran and Shaw finally returned to their caves and Yzako walked back down the long flight of stairs to the ground, Kul circling above her. Her spirits were lifted, and her chest felt light and open, all of the turbulence that had plagued her finally seeming to have washed away. When she came before the chief, there was a pleasant, relaxed expression on her face, and he couldn’t help but offer her a smile. 

“Well?” he asked. “Did the masters give you the answers you were looking for?”

“I think so,” Yzako sighed as Kul landed behind her. He pushed his snout under her arm, nuzzling into her side happily. “Fire is...a lot more than I thought it was, I guess. The sages never taught me anything like that, they just always told me to get ahold of myself before I hurt anyone else. I guess...that’s why I was so tangled up inside.”

“Fire is the element of passion,” Utu said, holding up his hand. A small flame was burning in his palm, so tiny and harmless that it was almost cute. “It can and will consume everything in its path...but, as I mentioned before, without fire, there is no life. As firebenders, we must be aware of the duality of its nature, and the duality of ourselves.”

Yzako nodded slowly, looking down at her own hands. “Yes. I think I understand that now.”

The chief smiled at her, but before he could open his mouth to speak, he was interrupted. 

“Chief Utu!” an out of breath messenger panted, doubling over with her hands on her knees. “The outsiders are caught in the sap. They performed the Dancing Dragon and tried to take the sun stone.”

Yzako’s heart leapt hopefully. So Aang and Zuko were still alive? 

“I see.” the chief said, turning to look towards the city in the distance. “Let us return and deal with these...trespassers.”

“Deal with them?” Yzako asked, running after Utu as he began walking. 

“Yes.” he nodded as the other Sun Warriors got up to follow. “They, too, must be deemed worthy to visit our city.”

“Okay, so...what are you going to do to them?”

“If the chief is smart, he will end them!” Ham Gao hissed, appearing at her side. 

Yzako glared. “You’re one more comment away from a burnt ass, buddy, I swear--”

“Enough.” Chief Utu said, sounding more like a parent dealing with squabbling siblings. “I wish to speak to these outsiders that you brought with you, Golden Dragon. If they are deserving, they, too, will be judged by the masters.”

“You already know they’re deserving!” she argued.

“They must be tested.” he winked at her. “Plus, it’s always fun giving visitors a hard time.You and Kul should retire to the pyramid while I speak to them. We will bring them to you at sunrise.”

“What? No!” she protested. “I want to make sure that they’re safe--”

“Golden Dragon, please.” he sighed. 

His tone told her that he wasn’t going to budge, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes or snap back at him. As she climbed onto Kul’s neck, the dragon returned to the place where they had met the Sun Warriors, crawling into the Eternal Flame the moment Yzako’s feet touched the floor. She had nothing to do but wait, now, and she couldn’t deny that she was exhausted. So she sat there, cross legged, her back warmed by the dragon fire behind her as she stared out at the starry night sky and wondered if Zuko was throwing fits about whatever predicament he had gotten himself into.

She wasn’t far off.

Zuko and Aang had spent the past several hours completely stuck in the sticky tar, their faces the only parts of them that were free of it. At first, the prince had been optimistic, but as the day dragged on and turned into night, he was losing steam and beginning to accept that there was a good chance nobody was coming to save them. There had been no sign of Yzako, and every time a shadow passed by overhead and he got hopeful that it was Kul, Zuko was disappointed to find that it was only a cloud. At one point he could have sworn he heard the sound of the dragon’s roar off in the distance, but when he asked Aang, the avatar shrugged and said he didn’t hear anything, and that it was probably just the wind or his imagination. 

So, all in all, Zuko wasn’t exactly having a good time.

“You  _ had _ to pick up the glowing egg, didn’t you?” Aang asked. 

“At least I made something happen!” the prince snapped. “If it were up to you, we never would have made it past the courtyard.”

Aang glared at him, but rather than reply, he opened his mouth and yelled an earsplitting “ _ HEEEEELLP!”  _ that rang out through the darkness. The force of the airbender’s shout ruffled Zuko’s hair and he grimaced, ears already ringing.

“Who are you yelling to?” he asked. “Nobody’s lived here for centuries!”

“Well, what do you think we should do?” the avatar asked. 

Zuko was silent for a moment, trying to come up with something good. “...think about our place in the universe?”

When Aang let out a heavy sigh, he knew it was a stupid suggestion, but what else was he supposed to say? They still haven’t figured a way out, and if there was anybody around to help, they certainly hadn’t shown up yet. He was beginning to doubt that  _ anyone _ would come find them, friendly or not.

When he heard a stranger’s voice, though, he jumped, straining his neck to look at the speaker. 

“What is the meaning of this?” a man boomed, coming into view. 

Aang gasped, and before they knew it, the grate they were pressed up against was being pulled to the side and they were hauled out of the sap. Who were these people? The leader, the man who had addressed them, was wearing a huge feather headdress, red and white designs painted on his skin. He had a staff in his hand, golden feathers tied around the ornate metal tip. He was dressed in reds and yellows, and as Zuko looked at the crowd standing behind him, he saw that they all wore similar clothing.

Were these people the Sun Warriors everyone thought were dead?

He and Aang were led to the base of the main pyramid, where they sat while two aardvark sloths licked them clean. The Sun Warriors stood in front of them, torches burning in their hands as they glared at the outsiders. They didn’t look at all friendly, and with no sign of Yzako and Kul, Zuko was beginning to wonder just how much danger he was actually in. 

“For trying to take our sun stone, you must be severely punished.” the leader said in a harsh tone.

“We didn’t come to take your sun stone,” Zuko growled, looking up at him. “We came here to find the ancient origin of all firebending.”

“Yeah, right.” a scrawny man next to the leader said, stepping out of the crowd. He was holding the golden stone Zuko had grabbed earlier that day, cradling it tightly in his hands. “They are obviously thieves, here to steal Sun Warrior treasures!”

“Please!” Aang pleaded. “I don’t normally play this card, but...I’m the avatar.”

As he stood, the man narrowed his eyes, looking from him to the leader and back again. 

“Just hear us out,” Aang bowed his head, looking up at the Sun Warriors with hopeful eyes. He had the feeling that these people would be friendly, given the chance, and with his usually optimistic outlook on life, he was growing less and less afraid of them with each passing moment. 

Zuko, on the other hand, wasn’t. He was as guarded and untrusting as ever, and as he stood at Aang’s side, he felt like he had something to prove to these people. 

“My name is Zuko.” he said. “Crown prince of the Fire Nation. Or at least...I used to be.” he looked down with a sigh. “I know my people have distorted the ways of firebending to be fueled by anger and rage, but now I want to learn the true way. The original way.”

He looked back up at them and was met by blank, sometimes angry faces. “When we first came here, I never imagined the Sun Warrior civilization was secretly alive. I am truly humbled to be in your presence.”

As he bowed his head, he couldn’t see the small smile that flickered over the chief’s features. 

“Please.” Zuko said, looking up again. “Teach us.”

“If you wish to learn the ways of the sun, you must learn them from the masters Ran and Shaw.” the leader said. 

“Ran and Shaw?” Aang asked, furrowing his brow. “There are two of them?”

“When you present yourselves to them, they will examine you.” the chief stepped up, looking down at them menacingly. “They’ll read your hearts. Your souls. And your ancestry.”

Zuko’s face dropped, fear flashing across it as the man leaned down towards him. 

“If they deem you worthy, they’ll teach you.” he said. “If they don’t...you’ll be destroyed on the spot.”

Aang looked up at Zuko, eyes wide with fear and uncertainty, and the firebender returned his gaze. These Sun Warriors meant business, and as they were led to a small chamber inside the pyramid and given thin woven mats to sleep on, he found himself lying awake and worrying about Yzako. 

If he had known that she was directly above him, slumped over and sleeping halfway inside of an ancient flame, he probably wouldn’t have been so concerned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Aang and Zuko finally get to meet the masters next!


	82. Judgment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came out with this chapter way faster than the last couple, so hopefully I can keep this up! I got a Blue Spirit tattoo the other day so I'm feeling all sorts of motivated lol

Yzako hadn’t even realized that she had fallen asleep until she was waking up in the morning. The sun was shining directly into her eyes, a few birds chirping in the distance. Everything was nice and peaceful, a warm fire burning just behind her, the sound of Kul’s steady snores filling her ears. 

Then she remembered where she was, and she shot straight up just in time to see Chief Utu’s face appearing at the top of the steps. 

“Ah, you’re awake.” he smiled. 

“I guess so.” she grumbled, rubbing at her eyes. 

“You are not a morning person, I gather,” the chief laughed, standing before her in his usual garb. “Ironic, as most firebenders are.”

“Yeah, well, not me,” she patted the sides of her face, trying to wake herself up more. “Never have been, never will be.”

Kul growled in agreement, shifting in the fire behind her. 

“Well, I am sorry to have to tell you that it is time for the day to begin.” Utu chuckled as more Sun Warriors climbed up to stand behind him. “Though I think you will be pleased with what we have brought along.”

“What are you talking about?” Yzako asked, still trying to shake the sleep from her head as she squinted against the sunlight. All she wanted was to lay down and nap for a few more hours.

The chief stepped aside with a smile on his face, and as she saw a shock of black hair appearing at the top of the steps, Yzako straightened up. Zuko looked grumpy, but he was very much in one piece, not a bruise or blemish in sight. He was wearing the same clothes as the day before, his swords still sheathed on his back, and when he saw Yzako sitting there before the fire, his face lit up. 

Chief Utu stepped aside as the prince ran forward, catching Yzako in a hug just as she was hurrying to stand up. Zuko dragged her into his arms, squeezing her tightly with one hand cradling the back of her head as if he was afraid of breaking or losing her. She sighed happily, clinging to the fabric on his back as she buried her face into his chest. For a long moment, all she did was take in his familiar scent, enjoying the warmth of his embrace and wishing she could stay there forever.

Someone cleared their throat, and Yzako peered around Zuko to see Aang standing there, staff in hand and that big dopey grin on his face as he waved. She smiled, stepping back from her lover to get a better look at the avatar. It seemed that both boys had escaped the Sun Warriors’ traps unscathed, and save for Zuko’s usual bad attitude, they looked to be completely fine.

“What are you doing up here?” The prince asked, looking down at Yzako.

“Oh, I slept here.” She said simply, as if there was nothing odd about taking a nap at the top of an ancient pyramid in a supposedly long abandoned city. “I just now woke up.”

Zuko knew her well enough to know that there wasn’t any point in questioning her further. Of  _ course _ all of his worrying had been for nothing. It was such an  _ Yzako  _ thing to go and befriend the intimidating locals, disappear for an entire day, and then turn up in a most likely sacred place and use it as an open-air bedroom. Typical. 

“Did you guys find anything yet?” She asked.

“Well...sort of.” Aang said. “We found this room with a bunch of statues, and when we danced, this egg-shaped stone thing came out of the floor and Zuko grabbed it and—“

“It wasn’t my fault!” Zuko turned to snap at him. 

“—and then the whole room filled up with this gross sticky goo, and we got stuck there all day and I was starting to think you were dead and we’d be there forever until—“

“Until the Sun Warriors let us out.” Zuko said with an air of irritation. “We spent the rest of the night downstairs wondering where you were.”

“Enough talking,” Ham Gao hissed.

Yzako glared at him, then turned her attention back to Zuko once more. “I slept up here. I was worried about both of you, but I should probably know better.”

Zuko frowned. “Why’s that?”

“You’re harder to get rid of than that.”

“Oh, come on!” Ham Gao said, sounding irritated. “Enough  _ catching up _ . Are these  _ outsiders  _ going to talk all day, or are they going to present themselves to the masters?”

Yzako rolled her eyes at him, but she didn’t get a chance to snap before Chief Utu was stepping forward. He beckoned for Yzako and Zuko to step aside, gazing up at the fire that Kul was still curled up in. 

“He is right.” he said. “If you’re going to see the masters, you must bring them a piece of the Eternal Flame.”

The sleepy dragon raised his head, giving a huge yawn that made his teeth and tusks look even more formidable than usual. As he shook his mane out, the Sun Warriors all sat in a circle, leaving only the outsiders and the chief still standing. 

Utu came to stand before Kul, his back to the rest of the humans as he raised his hands. “This fire is the very first one. It was given to man by the dragons.” he turned, looking pointedly at Zuko and Aang. “We have kept it going for thousands of years.”

“I can’t believe it,” Zuko breathed, staring at the flames with wide eyes. 

“You will each take a piece of it to the masters to show your commitment to the sacred art of firebending.” the chief said. 

Yzako tilted her head slightly as she listened. So this is what she had missed out on yesterday, huh? It seemed like she had taken the easy route, being the Golden Dragon and all. The trek out to Ran and Shaw was bad enough just walking, and she was glad that she didn’t have to carry a fire out there.

“Um, Mr. Sun Chief, sir?” Aang spoke up, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, I’m not a firebender yet. Couldn’t my friend here carry my fire for me?”

“No.” the chief didn’t look at all impressed by his request, immediately turning and reaching into the fire. He pulled out a ball of flames, shaping and holding it between his hands as he turned back towards the avatar. “This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy.” He separated the fire into two small flames, one in each hand. “You must maintain a constant heat. The flame will go out if you make it too small.”

Yzako glanced over to where Aang was standing on Zuko’s other side and caught sight of his terrified expression. The avatar wasn’t taking to this whole  _ fire _ thing too well, his eyes wide with fear as Utu continued speaking. 

“Make it too big, and you might lose control.” he said, handing the flame in his right hand to Zuko. 

The prince accepted it with both hands, a serious look on his face. He wasn’t scared like Aang was, but he didn’t seem overly happy with his situation. Just as Yzako expected, he was taking this all in stride, with his usual confident facade. She knew that he was probably doubting himself inside, but at least he  _ looked _ like he had a handle on things.

Next to him, Aang was hesitant. He reached forward to take his flame, but then quickly pulled his hands back the moment he felt its heat. 

“I’m sorry,” he flinched back again. “I’m just a little nervous.”

The chief waited, unmoving, as the monk finally convinced his body to take hold of the tiny fire. As he did so, he braced himself, waiting to feel the scorching heat of the flames against his skin, or maybe for it to leap onto his clothes and set them ablaze, but when it sat perfectly in the palm of his hand, he finally relaxed and smiled. 

“It’s...like a little heartbeat,” he said, looking down at it in wonder. 

As Yzako watched him, she realized that this was probably the first time Aang was experiencing something like this. What had he said the other day? That he had hurt Katara? He must have been horrified by the burns he had left on her. 

“Fire is life.” Utu said, reiterating what he had said to Yzako the day before. “Not just destruction.” He pointed towards the mountains in the distance. “You will take your flames up there. The Cave of the Masters is in that rock.”

Zuko nodded immediately, understanding the importance of the task he had just been given. He turned to the pyramid steps, immediately starting to make his way down them with Aang at his heels. Yzako looked to the Chief, who gave her a warm smile as the other Sun Warriors stood and followed the prince and the avatar. 

“Well?” she asked, looking up at him. “Are the masters going to accept them?”

“That is for the masters to decide.” he said. “Though...I do not know how pleased they will be to meet the crown prince of the nation that intends to destroy the world, and whose family caused the decline of the dragons.”

She paled. “But won’t they see that Kul likes him? He even blessed Zuko the very first time we met.”

Utu looked thoughtful. “That is indeed a great gift to receive from a dragon. The masters will decide for themselves, though. I cannot pretend to know how they think, or what they will choose when the time comes.”

“Well what about Aang?” she asked, running after him as he turned and began making his way down the steps. “He’s the avatar. That means  _ something, _ doesn’t it?”

He paused, looking over his shoulder at her. “He abandoned the world when it needed him most. Had he not disappeared, perhaps things would have turned out differently, and we would not be in such peril now.”

Yzako couldn’t exactly argue with that.

“Come. We should accompany them. You may fly this time, if you wish.”

She sighed in relief, and a few minutes later, she was sitting comfortably behind Kul’s big head, enjoying the feeling of the warm morning breeze blowing through her hair. The sun was already high in the sky, as it usually was in the Fire Nation, and as it reflected off of Kul’s golden scales, it felt even warmer on Yzako’s skin. She loved it, as she always did, enjoying the heat of her homeland. It was the only place she would ever really be happy living, she realized; the Earth Kingdom’s climate was temperate in many places, but it wasn’t the same as the tropics she was used to, and if she could help it, she never,  _ ever _ wanted to feel the cold of the North Pole again. No, the Fire Nation was her favorite place, despite everything that had happened, despite everything that she had been through so far. 

It was home.

Kul wheeled overhead as Zuko and Aang carried their pieces of the Eternal Flame through the fields and trees that separated the city from the mountains. The prince was moving quickly, holding his fire in one hand while he marched onward, determined to reach their destination as soon as possible so that he could finally figure out what was wrong with his bending. Aang, on the other hand, was hunched over, shielding his flame from the world as if it could go out at any moment and creeping along at little more than a snail’s pace.

“Hurry up!” Zuko yelled as the grass under his feet became stone and he began climbing the rocky mountainside. He turned to see Aang struggling to pull himself up with one hand, desperately grabbing at a rock while he cradled his flame close to his chest. 

“I can’t!” the avatar called. “If I go too fast, my flame will go out!”

“Your flame’s gonna go out because it’s too small.” Zuko said coldly as he looked down at Aang. “You’re too timid. Give it more juice.”

Aang hauled himself up. “But what if I can’t control it?”

“You can do it.” Zuko said, his expression unchanging. “I know you can. You’re a talented kid.”

Though the firebender seemed unimpressed and entirely removed from the situation, the meaning behind his words was enough to give Aang the little boost he needed to continue on, catching up to him slightly. 

The climb up the mountain took most of the day. The Sun Warriors were nowhere to be seen, either having abandoned them or taken a different and easier route, but Kul’s shadow still passed overhead every few minutes. Whenever Zuko glanced up, he saw the dragon dipping in and out of the clouds, sometimes dipping low enough that he could hear the guttural rumbles coming out of his throat as he talked to Yzako. Zuko could barely see her sitting there, partially obscured by the dragon’s mane, but when he did manage to spot her, he couldn’t help but smile. She looked happy and at peace, Katara’s harsh words from the other day already long forgotten.

Zuko was glad to see that they weren’t eating at her anymore. 

By the time he and Aang reached their destination, Kul was no longer flying, and the sun was beginning to set. They followed a narrow, winding path until it opened up to reveal a flat area, a large, circular design carved into the rocky ground. The Sun Warriors were already there, facing the outsiders in a semicircle, some standing while others knelt with drums before them. Yzako was still sitting on Kul as he stood in the middle of them next to the chief, facing Zuko and Aang with a much less friendly expression than usual. 

Zuko’s eyes widened as he looked at the scene before him. There was a massive flight of stairs carved out of stone that led to a catwalk that connected two sharp mountain peaks, and just beyond it, he could see nothing but open air. He didn’t know what he had expected to find at the end of this journey, but he was beginning to get the feeling that it wasn’t going to be anything he was at all mentally prepared for.

“Facing the judgment of the firebending masters will be very dangerous for you.” the chief walked forward, Ham Gao at his right side, another Sun Warrior at his left. “Your ancestors are directly responsible for the dragons’ disappearance.”

Zuko shifted his gaze away from the man, looking off to the side rather than facing him. 

“The masters might not be so happy to see you.” 

“I know  _ I  _ wouldn’t be,” Ham Gao snarked, hands on his hips as he leered forward. 

Zuko was silent, looking away in shame.

Aang noticed his discomfort and spoke up. “But, once they realize I’m the avatar--”

“Have you forgotten that you  _ vanished, _ allowing the Fire Nation to wreak havoc on the world?” the chief interrupted. “The decline of the dragons is your burden, too.”

It was Aang’s turn to look away in shame. He had never considered the role he played in what happened to the dragons. He didn’t even know that they had gone extinct until just the day before! How was he supposed to deal with the knowledge that his time in the iceberg did little to help anyone now? He was young when he ran from the temple, and maybe he would have died in the Air Nomad genocide along with all of his friends and teachers, but at least he would have been with them. Now, as he saw more of the world, he had come to realize that there were plenty of people who resented him, and now, with the failed invasion attempt so fresh in his memory, it stung even more than before.

The chief slammed his spear into the ground hard enough that both Aang and Zuko jumped. Without warning, he stepped forward, moving in a lunge to take a portion of the flames from their hands and give them to Ham Gao and the other Sun Warrior. They made similar movements, handing the fire off to Sun Warriors at the ends of each side of the semicircle they had formed. They began bending the flames into huge circles until they grew larger and larger, passing them along to the firebenders who remained standing until they all held a part of the Eternal Flame. 

“We could turn back now,” Aang hissed, turning to Zuko as the chief walked towards Kul. “We’ve already learned more about fire than we’d hoped.”

“No.” Zuko said, glaring down at the airbender’s sheepish grin. “We’re seeing this through to the end. We’re going to meet these _ masters _ and find out what’s so great about them.”

“What if they judge us and attack us?” Aang asked, brows drawn together in doubt and worry.

“We’re the fire prince and the avatar.” he reached over his shoulder, grabbing the hilt of his sword. “I think we could take these guys in a fight, whoever they are.”

When he looked up, he saw that the Sun Warriors were passing the flames to Kul. The dragon swept them up with a movement of his head, drawing the fire into his mouth before rearing back and releasing it in a massive plume of white and red fire that was hot enough for Zuko to feel on his face, even from so far away. 

“...Plus, we have a pretty good escape plan.” he said, nodding towards Kul.

Aang nodded hesitantly, and Zuko stepped forward, facing the Sun Warrior chief as he now stood next to the dragon. “Bring them out!”

The chief regarded him with harsh eyes, but nodded. “CHANTERS!”

The Sun Warriors on the ground began pounding their fists against the drums, chanting breathily as they beat a quick but steady rhythm. As Aang and Zuko walked forward, the chief and Kul both stepped to the side, allowing them access to the stairs. They shared a glance, took a deep breath, and began climbing, their little flames still burning away in their palms.

It somehow felt longer than the entire journey up to that point, but unlike Yzako, they didn’t pause. Their legs were burning by the time they reached the top, but they remained steadfast, finally stepping onto the walkway between the two caves. 

“ _ Those who wish to meet the masters Ran and Shaw will now present their fire!” _ a man called from down below, his voice amplified by the horn he spoke into.

Aang and Zuko turned towards the caves, their backs together as they stepped into low bows, their arms outstretched. 

“Sound the call!” Chief Utu yelled.

Behind Yzako, a horn sounded, the call echoing off of the rocks around her. As she heard the telltale blasts and thuds of the dragons waking up and leaving their dens, she chewed her lower lip, looking up with worry. Zuko was so small up there, his silhouette tiny against the sun as it hung low in the sky. She had seen how massive Ran and Shaw were, and Zuko barely had any bending ability at the moment. There was no way he would survive if they decided to attack. 

“They’re going to be okay, right?” she asked Kul. 

The dragon didn’t answer, and it did little to calm her nerves.

As the stone rumbled beneath his feet, Aang jumped, his fire immediately going out as he turned to Zuko. “What’s happening?”

The firebender hadn’t moved, still bowing towards the cave he faced. He glanced back towards Aang, barely paying any mind to the worried airbender, and as Aang decided it was best to keep mimicking Zuko, he realized that he had no flame to present. 

“Zuko, my fire went out!” he said, turning to him again.

“What do you want me to do?” the prince asked over his shoulder. 

“Give me some of yours!” Aang tried to reach around him. 

Zuko pushed him back with his free hand, holding his flame out of reach. “No! Just make your own!”

“I can’t!”

“Get some from one of those warriors!”

Yzako couldn’t believe her eyes. 

“Stop cheating off me!” she heard Zuko yell angrily, warding Aang off. 

“Quit being stingy!” the avatar replied, clawing at his arms.

“You have got to be kidding me.” she said in disbelief as she watched them squabbling. 

Aang had managed to get both arms under Zuko’s, desperately stretching and reaching for the fire in his hand as Zuko kept his back to him. They looked ridiculous, stumbling around, and Yzako had to at least hand it to her boyfriend that he was  _ trying _ not to fuck this up. 

Then, his fire went out, and looked back at Aang with a concerned expression. 

“Uh oh,” they said together as the rumbling grew louder and louder. 

Suddenly, something huge exploded out of the cave Zuko faced, shrieking and roaring at a deafening volume as it rushed towards them. Bright yellow eyes shone against a red face, and as it circled overhead, a second monster came from Aang’s cave, this one equally as huge and terrifying, its scales blue. 

As they flew around the two, Zuko and Aang backed up against each other. Neither had been anywhere  _ near _ prepared for this. 

“These...are the masters,” Zuko said in awe, looking up at the dragons. 

“Still think we can take ‘em?” Aang whispered. 

“Shh!” Zuko hissed quickly. “I never said that!”

Down below, the Sun Warrior had all dropped into low bows, Kul lowering his head to join them. 

“Oh, here it comes,” Ham Gao sneered excitedly. “Dinner for the masters!”

The chief glared at him. “Quiet, Ham Gao.”

“What? Everyone’s thinking it.”

Yzako couldn’t even refute that. The odds were seeming less and less in Zuko’s favor as the masters flew around him and Aang, their bodies twisting in a pattern that was different from the one they had flown in for her. 

“Zuko,” Aang said as he watched them. “I think we’re supposed to do the Dragon Dance with them.”

“What?” Zuko snapped. “What about this situation makes you think they want us to  _ dance _ ?”

“Well, I think they want us to do  _ something.” _ Aang said in a hushed voice. “Let’s just...try it.”

“Fine.” Zuko growled, stepping away from him. 

As they each stood on their right foot, their palms facing the sky, the dragons suddenly flew straight upwards. When they dropped into diagonal lunges, each beast did as well, moving in time with them, following their steps with their own bodies. They were beautiful, gracefully turning and bending through the air as they danced, and as Aang and Zuko finished with their fists meeting each other, Ran and Shaw stopped, huge wings pumping and keeping them in place as they faced the humans.

“Judgment time,” Chief Utu announced.

Yzako swallowed hard. 

The blue dragon was facing Zuko, the red facing Aang. Their expressions betrayed nothing, their eyes offering no insight as to what they were thinking. They were huge, far bigger than Kul, and at least twice as scary as the dragon they had both come to know. As they suddenly dropped down with their claws grasping the sides of the stairs, their jaws opened, and Aang let out a massive scream.

This had to be it. This had to be the end. Zuko wanted to brace himself for the pain that was about to come, but he found that he couldn’t. Just like the day his father burned him, he was staring at his attacker, his eyes wide and vulnerable, though this time, he knew it was going to hurt far more. He was going to lose more than just half his face. He was going to lose everything, because these dragons hadn’t deemed him worthy. 

He heard the telltale sound of their fire igniting, and he watched as it sparked and came to life in the blue dragon’s throat, but as it came spilling out, he felt no pain. It was huge, an incredible stream of ever changing colors that joined with the red dragon’s flames to twist around the humans, caging them inside a whirlwind of fire. There were reds and blues, yellows and greens, pinks and whites and everything in between, all swirling together to create one beautiful tornado of flames, and as huge as it was, the heat it gave off was nothing more than comfortable. 

“I understand,” Zuko breathed. 

And he did. 

He knew now what firebending meant, what it truly was. 

The dragons returned to their caves and the chanting ceased, and he and Aang made their way down the steps. Yzako caught Ham Gao grimacing, disappointed in the lack of carnage, and she looked down at him smugly. 

“Upset, Ham Gao?” she asked, smirking. 

“If you were not on the back of a dragon, you would not be speaking so boldly.” he huffed, turning his head away so he didn’t have to see her as he stood.

Kul straightened up, letting out a roar as the tips of the masters’ tails finally disappeared into their dens. They returned his call with their own earth-shattering sounds, and Yzako caught Zuko and Aang wincing as they made their way down.

“Their fire was beautiful,” Zuko said as he reached the bottom of the steps. “I saw so many colors, colors I’ve never even imagined…”

“Like firebending harmony,” Aang agreed. 

“Yes,” the chief said, waiting for them. “They judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of firebending.”

“I can’t believe there are still living dragons,” Zuko looked up at Kul. “My Uncle Iroh said he faced the last dragon and killed it.”

“So your uncle lied.” Aang said. 

“Actually, it wasn’t a total lie.” Utu smiled. “Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters. They deemed him worthy, and passed the secret on to him, as well.”

Zuko’s face dropped. “He...must have lied to protect them, so no one else would hunt them.”

Kul dipped his head in a big nod. 

“Did you know about this?” Zuko asked. 

“Well...yeah,” Yzako said. 

“For how long?” 

“The first night on the ship, after we left Zhao’s harbor.” she laughed in embarrassment as he glared up at her. “That was the first time Kul appeared in front of me. Uncle was bringing me tea, and he saw him, and I...well, I was angry with him, because Zhao had called him The Dragon of the West, and I thought…”

“You thought he was a killer.” Zuko said bluntly. “Like we all did.”

“...Yeah.”

“All this time, I thought firebending was destruction.” Aang shook his head. “Since I hurt Katara, I’ve been too afraid and hesitant. But now...I know what it really is. It’s energy, and life.”

“It’s like the sun.” Zuko agreed. “But...inside of you. Do you guys realize this?”

Chief Utu and Kul shared a look. 

“Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors, so...yes.” Utu laughed.

“That’s why my firebending was so weak before,” Zuko realized, looking down at Aang. “For so many years, hunting  _ you _ was my drive. It was my  _ purpose _ . So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire. But now...I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my father, and restore balance to the world.”

He stepped past the chief, performing a few simple movements that had huge fireballs blasting out of his fist. Aang watched with an eager expression, running forward to attempt his own firebending. When he was successful, he grinned, looking back at Zuko and Yzako happily. 

When Chief Utu stepped forward menacingly, though, the avatar’s face fell.

“Now that you have learned the secrets, and you know about our tribe’s existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here,  _ forever.” _

Aang and Zuko both looked terrified, and Kul let out a barking laugh as the chief smiled once more. 

“Just kidding. But seriously...don’t tell anyone.” he growled. 

“O-of course not, Mr. Sun Chief, sir,” Aang bowed quickly. 

“Good. Now...you had all best be on your way.” Utu nodded. “You have a world to save.”

“Come one,” Yzako grinned, reaching down as Kul lowered his head and offering them her hand. “Let’s go find Appa.”

Aang had never ridden on a real dragon before, and he was laughing the entire time, a huge smile on his face as he threw his arms up into the air. Zuko, meanwhile, was clinging to Yzako, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other held a fistful of Kul’s mane. She turned towards him with a loud laugh, pressing a kiss against his terrified cheek as he clenched his jaw and tried not to think about how fast they were flying. 

“Hey, Yzako, what were you doing all day when you disappeared?” Aang called over the roar of the wind. 

“Oh, I was meeting with the masters,” she said over her shoulder. 

“You WHAT?!” Zuko asked angrily. “You knew about them that whole time, and you still let us get caught up in all that  _ goo?” _

“I didn’t know you were getting slimed!” she protested. “Kul and I found the Eternal Flame, and that’s when the Sun Warriors showed up. When I told them about being The Golden Dragon, they took me to see Ran and Shaw.”

“Of course they did.” Zuko grumbled, hiding his face in her shoulder again. 

“So did you have to dance with them, too?” Aang asked, peering around the grumpy firebender.

“No.” she shook her head. “I breathed fire at them, though.”

“Impressive.” Zuko grumbled against her.

They found Appa relaxing in a grove not too far from the ancient city, the bison bellowing happily as Kul landed next to him. The dragon disappeared, preferring to take a nap after so much excitement, and as Yzako leaned against the side of Appa’s saddle, they began the long trip back to the Western Air Temple. She slept with her head resting on Zuko’s chest, his arm around her as he dozed. Even Aang took breaks from sitting on Appa’s head to curl up and sleep, all three humans enjoying the peace and quiet of a gentle flight back home.

  
  
  


\----

  
  


“With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable!” Aang said as they performed the Dancing Dragon for the others. 

“Yeah, that’s a great dance you two learned there.” Sokka said while everyone else clapped. 

“It’s not a dance,” Zuko growled, looking up at him. “It’s a firebending form.”

“We’ll just tapdance our way to victory over the Fire Lord.”

“It’s a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!” Zuko snarled, marching towards where Sokka sat with the others.

“Oh yeah?” Katara asked. “What’s your little form called?”

His face fell. “...The Dancing Dragon.”

They all broke into laughter. Even Yzako chuckled from her spot between Kul’s paws, leaning back on her hands as she watched. 

“Yzako learned some new stuff too!” Aang said. 

They all turned to look at her, but the only person she was paying any attention to was Katara. The waterbender’s expression wasn’t as angry as it had been a few days before, but her eyes were still unfriendly. 

“Oh yeah?” Sokka asked. “Like what? Tell me, what does one big chicken lizard say to other chicken lizards?”

Yzako rolled her eyes, refusing to admit that that one was a little funny. “Ran and Shaw showed me that my fire isn’t just for destroying cities. I have a duty as The Golden Dragon to protect the Fire Nation, but I didn’t know how to do that before. I think...maybe I do, now.”

Zuko’s grouchy scowl faded into a soft smile. 

“Yep, well, whatever.” Sokka got up, stretching. “You all woke us up way too early. I’m finding some breakfast.”

Yzako watched him go, feeling more relaxed than she had in ages.


	83. My First Girlfriend Turned Into The Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the title of this chapter, but I couldn't think of a better one and that's one of my favorite scenes in the entire series lol. This one is a little short because I wanted to use it to set some stuff up!
> 
> Also, I'm working on writing up a little thing that delves into some of the themes and different things that I've been using a lot with this fic. I could honestly go on about Yzako forever so I hope you guys will enjoy reading more weird tidbits and also headcanons. Hopefully I'll have that ready to be posted with the next chapter!

“No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I learned a thing or two.” Zuko said one night as he poured several cups of tea he had attempted to brew. “Would you like to hear Uncle’s favorite tea joke?”

Everyone was sitting around the fire, Appa and Kul relaxing nearby.

“Sure,” Katara snorted. 

“I like jokes!” Aang agreed.

“Bring it.” Toph nodded. 

“Oh no.” Yzako groaned.

“Okay.” Zuko stood, carrying the tray with him as he knelt between Haru and The Duke to give them their cups. “...Well, I can’t remember how it starts, but the punchline is  _ leaf me alone, I’m bushed!” _

They all stared at him, and Yzako just sighed. 

“...It’s funnier when Uncle tells it.” Zuko grumbled.

“Right.” Katara said skeptically as she took a teacup off of the tray. “Maybe that’s because he remembers the whole thing.”

Everyone laughed, and after a moment, Zuko relaxed and laughed with them. It had been several days since he and Aang had met the firebending masters, and life was beginning to settle into a routine. He woke up at dawn and met Aang outside to begin training, sometimes with Yzako, and sometimes without. On the occasions that she did decide to wake up early and join them, she actually helped out, taking it upon herself to teach them more firebending forms that she had learned thanks to Kul. After only a few days, Zuko especially was already beginning to show improvement, moving far more gracefully than he ever had before. It was proving hard to break the basics he had been taught as a child, in the aggressive, solid style of Fire Nation soldiers, but once he managed to get lighter on his feet, the difference in his bending was striking. 

Then, halfway through the day, they would stop for lunch and then spend a few hours helping out the others with whatever they needed. Kul was proving to be invaluable when it came to finding food, taking it upon himself to hunt for Zuko and Yzako’s dinners each night. He would disappear for a bit only to return with a fresh carcass in his jaws, dropping it in front of them and waiting expectantly as Zuko sighed and went to grab Sokka’s skinning knife so that he could get to work preparing it.

Sokka also spent much of his time hunting, trying to keep himself busy so that his mind wouldn’t get stuck on thoughts of his father. Yzako had noticed the way he would sometimes sit alone, looking forlorn and regretful, but whenever she tried to ask him what was eating at him so much, he would crack stupid jokes at her expense until she left in a huff. She could guess that he was upset about what had happened the day of the invasion, but past that, she didn’t know, and she didn’t care.

Besides training Aang and skinning the animals that Kul brought to him, Zuko had begun making tea for everyone as well. Yzako could tell that it was at least in part due to how much he missed Iroh, and she couldn’t blame him; she had tried on several occasions to meditate and have Kul send her spirit to visit with the old man, but he either didn’t want to be found or was too far away, and she was left feeling frustrated and lonely every time.

It was hard to stay positive about something like that. Yzako had no idea where Iroh could have gone, or if he was safe, or if something bad had happened to him. She didn’t know if Ozai was sending anyone after his older brother, or if he had already caught him again. She had no way of telling if Uncle Iroh was okay, and she hated being left in the dark about something so important as his well being. 

“It’s nice to be able to relax a little,” Toph said, smiling as Zuko pressed a cup of tea into her hands. “It hardly ever happens.”

“That’s true!” Aang agreed from across the fire. “It feels like we’ve all been working nonstop. It’s nice to have a chance to just hang out again, even if it’s just for a few hours.”

“Don’t get used to it.” Yzako warned, taking a cup from Zuko as he passed by her and Kul. 

The avatar sighed and nodded. “I know, I know...focus on mastering firebending…”

“It’s good to take breaks.” Katara said. “Aang needs a--”

“A gentle teacher,” Toph snorted loudly. “Yeah, whatever. Don’t listen to her, she said the same thing to me when Aang couldn’t figure out how to earthbend.”

“And I’m right!” the waterbender protested. “A little compassion for your student can go a long way--”

Yzako rolled her eyes, tuning them out as they argued. Katara had been starting to act friendlier, but she still  _ clearly _ didn’t like the two firebenders that had joined Team Avatar, and she liked to make a point of ignoring their advice or contradicting them whenever she could. Sometimes, Yzako was able to brush it off easily, but other times, Zuko had to rush in and intervene before something bad happened. He reminded her again and again that Katara had plenty of reasons to hate both of them, and while Yzako understood, it didn’t make her want to react any better. 

Instead of forcing herself to listen to Katara, Yzako turned her attention to Zuko. Sokka had pulled him aside, speaking in a hushed voice, a serious expression on his face. He began walking away, towards the edge of the courtyard they always made their campfire in, and as Zuko followed, Yzako narrowed her eyes. They were already out of earshot, but as much as she wanted to, she didn’t dare get up to go after them. If it concerned her, someone would come and get her, she decided. 

“So...what’s up?” Zuko asked as he followed Sokka. 

“If someone was captured by the Fire Nation, where would they be taken?” Sokka stopped and turned to face him. 

Zuko frowned. “What do you mean? Who was captured?”

“When the invasion plan failed, some of our troops were taken.” Sokka crossed his arms over his chest. “I just wanna know where they might be.” 

“...I can’t tell you.”

“What?” Sokka asked. “Why not?”

“Trust me.” Zuko said. “Knowing will just make you feel worse.”

As he turned to leave, Sokka grabbed his shoulder. “It’s my dad. He was captured, too. I...need to know what I put him through.”

Zuko sighed and looked back at him. “It’s not good, Sokka.”

“Please.”

“My guess is they were taken to the Boiling Rock.”

“...What’s that?” Sokka asked, his eyes betraying his fear.

“The highest-security prison in the Fire Nation.”

Sokka’s face dropped. 

“It’s on an island in the middle of the boiling lake. It’s inescapable.”

He turned, eyes narrowed as he thought for a moment. “Where is this place?”

Zuko straightened up slightly, a hint of anger in his voice. “Why do you need to know? What are you planning?”

Sokka immediately relaxed his posture, a telltale sign of someone trying to hide their true intentions behind a casual facade. “Boy, you are  _ so _ paranoid.”

“It’s in the middle of a volcano, between here and the Fire Nation.” Zuko said, not buying his act. “You guys actually flew right past it on the way here.”

“Thanks, Zuko.” Sokka said, yawning unconvincingly. “Just knowing makes me feel better.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it does.” the prince growled as Sokka walked back to the campfire. 

He followed, sitting down between Kul’s paws next to Yzako as Sokka joined the others, Zuko watching him suspiciously. Yzako looked over at him, absolutely certain that she had missed something important now, and after a few minutes of grumpy silence, she nudged him.

“What happened?” she asked quietly.

“Sokka asked me about Fire Nation prisons.” Zuko said, his good eye narrowed as he stared ahead.

“...Why?”

“His father was captured during the failed invasion. He’s a political prisoner now.”

“So he’s…?”

“He’s at the Boiling Rock.” Zuko growled. “And Sokka is planning on going on a rescue mission. Alone.”

Yzako frowned. “Is that the prison in the--”

“In the middle of a volcano, surrounded by an inescapable boiling lake?”

“...Yeah, that one.”

“Yep.”

“And he somehow thinks he can get in and out of there without being arrested, executed, or just killed on the way?”

“Mhm.”

She leaned back against Kul with a heavy sigh. “And I don’t suppose you’re willing to let him go and make his own mistakes, are you?”

“Absolutely not.”

Yzako sighed again. When did Zuko grow such a conscience? She almost wished he was still as grouchy and difficult to talk to as he had been when she first met him. “So what? You’re just going to go along with him?”

“Something like that.” Zuko said, keeping a close eye on Sokka as he excused himself to go to bed early. 

  
  


\---

  
  
  


Rather than sleeping in their room like usual, Zuko and Yzako spent the night leaning against Kul, dozing on and off. Well, Yzako was dozing, having no trouble falling asleep while she latched onto Kul’s claw like it was a teddy bear. Zuko, on the other hand, was completely awake, cracking an eye open whenever he heard something that sounded like movement. The rest of the gang all tended to sleep in a circle around the fire, strewn about on their bedrolls and sleeping bags as if they actually enjoyed the hard ground--in Toph’s case, that was probably true--but Sokka was suspiciously absent, no doubt packing a bag to go running off in the direction of the Boiling Rock. 

When Zuko shifted to get up, Yzako woke. 

“Where are you goin’?” she slurred, still half asleep.

“Don’t worry about it.” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“You’re gonna go with him, aren’t you?”

He froze. “What makes you say that?”

“I know you.” she pushed herself up slightly. “I wanna go too.”

“No, no,” he hushed, gently shoving her back down. “You’ll be too conspicuous. Stay here, where you’re safe.”

She groaned in protest, but the still-sleeping Kul moved his paw over her to quiet her down and she relented, slipping back into unconsciousness quickly. Zuko snorted in amusement, standing as quietly as he could and tiptoeing his way over to Appa. There was no doubt in his mind that Sokka was going to try to take the bison, and the stupidity of it almost made Zuko angry. There was absolutely no way that this Water Tribe boy was going to survive his little prison break on his own. 

He hauled himself up into Appa’s saddle and waited. Before long, he heard the telltale sound of soft footsteps, and when Appa grunted quietly and he heard a tiny  _ shh, _ Zuko knew that Sokka was there. His bag was tossed up, landing in the saddle, and just a moment later his face appeared. 

“Not up to anything, huh?” Zuko asked.

Sokka yelped in surprise, letting go of the saddle’s edge and falling with a heavy thud. When Zuko leaned over the side with an unimpressed look on his face, Sokka sighed, sitting up slightly. 

“Fine, you caught me.” he grumbled, grabbing the provisions that had fallen with him. “I’m going to rescue my dad. Happy now?”

“I’m never happy.” Zuko growled, glaring down at him. 

“Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was all my idea.” Sokka said, shoving food into his pack. “It was  _ my _ decision to stay when things were going wrong. It’s my mistake, and I’m going to fix it.”

He stood, turning towards Appa again, but before he could reach the bison, Zuko dropped down in front of him. 

“I have to regain my honor. You can’t stop me, Zuko.” he said, facing him with a defiant look in his eyes.

“You need to regain your  _ honor?” _ Zuko asked as Sokka pushed past him. “Believe me,  _ I get it. _ I’m going with you.”

“No.” Sokka said as he grabbed a handful of Appa’s fur and pulled himself up onto his side. “I have to do this alone.”

“How are you going to get there?” Zuko asked skeptically. “On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don’t have bison daycares.”

Sokka reached the edge of the saddle again and sighed, looking down. He knew Zuko was right.

“We’ll take my war balloon.”

With another sigh, Sokka slid down to the ground again. “Fine. You’re right. You, uh...didn’t tell anyone else about this, did you?”

“Why? Afraid your friends will go after us?” Zuko asked, crossing his arms.

“Like I said, this is something  _ I  _ have to do.” Sokka said, facing him once more. “I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me.”

Zuko nodded. “I understand. But you know they’re going to worry when they see us both gone.”

“So we’ll just leave them a note!”

“...and say what, exactly?”

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way to the volcano, Zuko having readied his stolen war balloon while Sokka scribbled on a piece of parchment. He left it in Momo’s furry little arms, the lemur curling up around it while he snored near Appa. Satisfied with his work, he ran off into the trees above the temple to join Zuko, and together, they were off.

Birds were chirping by the time Yzako woke up. She could hear the others moving around, and as she cracked her eyes open, she saw The Duke carrying a pile of hay over to Appa. There was no sign of Zuko, and in her sleepy haze, she couldn’t remember where he would have gotten off to so early. Training Aang, probably, or getting his mid-morning stretches in already. 

“Hey, where’s Sokka?” She heard Aang ask, his voice groggy.

Yzako looked up tiredly to see the airbender walking up to Toph and Katara. Huh. So Zuko must have been training on his own for the moment, or something. 

“I dunno. I haven’t seen him all day.” Katara said. “Wait...what’s Momo got?”

Yzako rolled over, draping herself over Kul’s leg as she turned to tuck her face into his chest. If nobody needed her to be awake yet, then she didn’t want to be. 

“What’s it say?” Toph asked.

“ _ Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko.”  _ Katara read.

Huh. That was weird, but Yzako wasn’t awake enough to care. She was already dozing off again, Kul’s body heat pulling her back to sleep.

Aang yawned loudly, and Yzako concurred. He walked over to lay back down on his bedroll, happy to be getting a day off for once. 

_ “One more thing. Aang, practice your firebending while I’m gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hop squats every time you hear a badger frog croak. Zuko.” _

Yzako chuckled to herself. “Hop squats…”

As soon as the words left her sleepy mouth, she heard a symphony of badger frogs, the big amphibians croaking up a storm from somewhere outside the temple. She also heard Aang’s defeated sigh as he stood again, his boots scuffing against the ground.

“Nobody else has homework,” he whined, walking closer to Kul to start his sets.

“Nobody else has to defeat the Fire Lord.” Toph said.

“Don’t you think this is a little weird?” Katara asked, looking at the note again. “I mean, fishing? Kul already brings back plenty of meat...and where are they finding a river at?”

“I dunno.” There was a small thud as Toph kicked up a rock chair to sit on. “Kinda weird that Zuko went, too.”

“Yeah, does he even know how to fish? Doesn’t seem like the kind of thing  _ royalty  _ wastes time with…”

“Zuko is perfectly capable of finding food,” Yzako spoke up, voice muffled. 

“It—is—-kinda weird—“ Aang panted between hop squats, “—that they—went off on—a fishing trip.”

“They didn’t go fishing’,” Yzako waved her hand dismissively, her words slurred as her body yearned to go back to sleep. 

“What?” Katara asked. “Then where are they?”

“To prison, duh.”

There was a moment of silence. Aang paused his hop squats, joining Katara to stare at Yzako, and for a few seconds, nothing was said.

Then, Yzako realized what was going on, and she shot straight up.

“I need to go.” She said quickly, her eyes wide and awake now.

Her movement was big enough to wake Kul, the dragon grumbling as he shook his head and stood the moment she had climbed off of his leg. She was remembering what Zuko had said the night before about his talk with Sokka, and she was fairly certain that he had told her that he was leaving, though she wasn’t completely sure she hadn’t dreamt it. 

Everything was pointing towards it being a real conversation, though, and now, she was on the verge of panicking. If Ozai learned that Zuko was walking right into a prison, the Fire Lord wasn’t likely to be kind. She needed to get to him and distract him, if she could, with false leads or some sob story about how she just couldn’t catch up with the traitorous prince. 

“What’s going on?” Aang asked as Yzako jumped to her feet. 

“I need to get back to the palace. Or go...somewhere. I don’t know.” Yzako said, looking around for an empty bag to pack. 

“What? Why?” Katara asked. 

“Just trust me. Everything is fine.” She grabbed some provisions, shoving them into a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. “Aang, don’t forget to do your homework.”

Aang groaned, slumping in defeat as Yzako climbed onto Kul. A moment later, the dragon was gone, leaving the three humans wondering what exactly that was all about.

“You know, she makes it hard to trust her when this is what she does.” Katara huffed, watching Kul disappear into the sky.

“For once, I have to agree with you,” Toph said. “That chick is a weirdo.”

  
  


—

  
  


Sokka and Zuko were flying in strained, awkward silence. The firebender was tending to the flames that kept the balloon afloat, adding more whenever they began to lose altitude, and Sokka was...well, Sokka was looking at the sky around them. 

“Pretty clouds.” He commented, trying to say something,  _ anything,  _ so that they wouldn’t have to spend the entire trip avoiding eye contact. 

Zuko looked up. “...yeah. Fluffy.”

Then, he turned back to the fire, and Sokka was left to his own devices again. 

He lasted a few minutes before he couldn’t take it anymore. The silence was deafening, and he absolutely could  _ not  _ stand it for another moment. 

So, he started whistling to himself.

“What?” Zuko asked, looking at him again.

“What? Oh, I didn’t say anything.”

Okay, so Sokka was even weirder than Zuko had thought. 

“You know, a friend of mine actually designed these war balloons.” Sokka said.

“...no kidding.”

“Yep.” Sokka popped the end of the word. “A balloon. But for war.”

“If there’s one thing my dad’s good at, it’s war.” Zuko said, adding some more flames to the fire. 

“Yeah, it seems to run in the family.” Sokka leaned back against the side of the basket. 

“Hey, hold on.” Zuko growled at him. “Not everyone in my family is like that.”

“I know, I know. You’ve  _ changed,  _ or whatever.”

Zuko’s nostrils flared for a moment before he sighed and looked down. “I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me...and I really let him down.”

Sokka’s little sneer faded away. “I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us? That’s hard.”

Zuko stared into the fire. “It wasn’t that hard.”

“Really?” Sokka asked, genuinely surprised. “You didn’t leave behind anyone you cared about?”

“Well, my scary dragon girlfriend came along.” Zuko smiled at his own joke. “Other than that...not really. I left behind my ex, Mai, but...that’s about it.”

“Mai? That gloomy girl that sighs a lot?” Sokka raised an eyebrow. 

“Yeah. It was...a long time ago. And now...I almost wish Yzako had stayed behind.” Zuko looked out at the clouds. “Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I’m a traitor. I shouldn’t be dragging her into it.”

Sokka folded his arms over his chest. “My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

Zuko blinked at him. “...that’s rough, buddy.”

Sokka sighed, turning to drape himself over the edge of the war balloon’s basket. “Yeah. I really liked her, too.”

“Well, that, uh...that sort of thing happens to us all, at some point. Probably.” Zuko cleared his throat. He really didn’t know what he was supposed to say to someone whose girlfriend became a celestial body, but he was doing his best.

Sokka sighed again. “Yeah, but I get it. You know. Moon duties, and stuff.”

“...Right. Moon duties. I’m sure those are, uh...important.”

“They are.” Sokka sighed yet  _ again, _ stretching his arms out dramatically _. _

Zuko groaned inwardly. As much as he wanted to go on this little adventure to keep Sokka alive and out of trouble, he wasn’t a huge fan of how it was starting. He was already wishing that Yzako could have come along if for nothing other than her company, but what he had told her was right; she would be way too conspicuous, not just because of the way she looked, but because of the way she acted. Yzako carried herself so regally that even in a disguise, she would be spotted from a mile away. 

Besides, she would be safer in the Western Air Temple with the others. Kul would make sure they had all the food they needed, and Yzako would be able to keep an eye on Aang so that he actually did all of the exercises Zuko had left him with. This trip would probably only take a few days, and then he would be right back where he belonged with her, snuggled up around the campfire again. 

Except that while he and Sokka were flying towards the Boiling Rock, Kul was speeding towards the capital. The dragon stayed as high above the clouds as he could, keeping himself out of sight should he happen to pass directly over the war balloon. He was making good time, cutting through the sky so quickly that Yzako was almost starting to wonder if dragons had some sort of airbending abilities. She clung to his mane, using the thick fur to keep herself warm when the clouds grew cold and night fell, and just before dawn, after nearly twenty four hours of nonstop flying, Kul dove down towards the palace. 

As he landed amidst a gaggle of surprised soldiers, Yzako swallowed hard. She didn’t have very much of a plan, but she knew that she was going to have to come up with something convincing enough that Ozai wouldn’t question her. The Fire Lord was sure to be busy with his plans concerning Sozin’s Comet, and hopefully, it wouldn’t take much to get him off of Zuko’s scent. Hopefully, the fact that Yzako had willingly come back to the palace would be enough to make Ozai happy, and even if he didn’t let her leave again, at least the others would be safer.

Hopefully.

She was also going to have to survive Azula’s scrutiny, and as she marched towards the throne room with Kul at her side, she swore she could feel eyes watching her every move. Did they belong to the princess, or to the Dai Li agents that could very well be hiding around every corner? Yzako didn’t know, and if she could help it, she didn’t want to find out. 

“G-Golden Dragon!” a steward jumped as she approached. “What are you doing here? Did you find Zuko?”

“I need to talk with Fire Lord Ozai.” Yzako answered, keeping her voice level.

“Th-the Fire Lord is busy at the moment.” the man bowed quickly. “He is resting in his chambers. Perhaps you wish to do the same?”

“No!” she snapped. “I want to see him!”

“S-Someone will fetch you as soon as the Fire Lord is available. Please, allow me to show you to your rooms, Golden Dragon.”

She huffed, but with little other choice, she followed him to the room she used to share with Zuko, unaware of the narrowed eyes that were watching her from the end of the hall. 

“What is it, Azula?” Mai asked boredly. 

“Something about our dear little dragon seems a bit off, don’t you think?” the princess asked, smirking. 

“Because she doesn’t have Zuko’s corpse with her?” Mai rolled her eyes. 

“That, and she isn’t carrying the same bag that she left here with.” 

“So what? Maybe she brought a spare.”

“Yes, maybe she did...or maybe she knows exactly where Zuzu and the avatar are hiding.” Azula said, a dangerous lilt to her voice as she watched Kul’s tail disappear around the corner.    



End file.
